Fostering Service Statement of Purpose

It is a requirement of the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 and the National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services, that each Fostering Agency produces a Statement of Purpose, outlining its aims, objectives and services.

This Statement of Purpose outlines the aims and objectives of Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and the services provided to our prospective and approved foster carers, prospective supported lodgings hosts and those who use the Fostering Service.

This statement is available to all members of staff, foster carers, children and birth parents and is publicised on Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council website. The statement is reviewed annually and in line with any changes.

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Fostering Service is run in accordance with the principles outlined in:

• Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011
• Children Act 1989
• Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2013 (Amendments to the Children Act 1989)
• Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards (2011)
• Children Act Guidance and Regulations Volume 4: Fostering Services (2011)
• Family and Friends Care: Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities
• Care Planning, Placement and Case Review Regulations 2010
• Care Planning and Fostering Regulations (Amendments) 2015
• The Disability and Equality Act 2010
• The Human Rights Act 1998
• The Children (Leaving care) Act 2000
• Training, Support and Development Standards (TSD) for Foster Carers
• The Supported Accommodation (England) Regulation 2023

Our mission is to provide high quality, diverse family placements for children and young people. Carers will be continuously trained and supported by a highly regarded team of professionals to promote stable and safe placements. The Family Placement Team will inspire confidence in children and young people to do the best they possibly can and to develop and reach their personal goals. The team will provide a respectful service, which strives to be free from discrimination, prejudice and racism.

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's Sufficiency Strategy delivers on our statutory responsibility for sufficiency planning and commitment for the right of every child to live safely and securely when they are not able to live with their own parents, for whatever reason. Where children are not able to safely live with their family of origin, they need to live, either in the short term or permanently, in other care arrangements. Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council will, where possible, place them with alternative nurturing and supportive families. Regular data in respect of placement needs and trends is shared with the Director and Assistant Director of Children's Services to also inform the council's wider placement strategies.

Stockton Family Placement Team are responsible for the recruitment and assessment of all prospective and connected foster carers and prospective supported lodgings hosts.  The aim of the Family Placement Team is to provide high quality, diverse family placements, which meet the needs of children and young people.

Our goal is to ensure that children and young people enjoy a safe, healthy childhood and young adulthood, built on happy memories and loving relationships, where they are encouraged and given every opportunity to achieve in all areas of their lives. Where appropriate young people will be encouraged and supported to remain with their former foster carer under a Staying Put arrangement, once they reach adulthood.

The Fostering Service Objectives

•  proactively recruit, prepare, assess and train foster carers and supported lodgings hosts from a diverse range of backgrounds, who can meet the holistic needs of children and young people
• where possible, we will place children with carers who are connected to them by virtue of being a family member or friend. These foster carers will be assessed, trained and supported by workers who have specialist experience of working with connected carers. The connected carer will receive the same level of supervision and support as an unrelated foster carer
• listen to children and young people and consider their views when planning for their care
• where possible, and where it is consistent with the child's best interests, place siblings together
• consider a child or young person's age, gender, ethnicity, religion, culture, disability and language as well as their personal experiences when identifying placements and matching children to carers
• promote family time for the child or young person with his or her birth family throughout their placement
• work in partnership with professionals and other significant people in a child's life to identify, maintain and support the child in placement
• offer to all foster carers regular supervision, support and opportunities for training and development
• ensure foster carers make children and young people aware of their rights and the complaints, compliments and advocacy process by providing the relevant information
• work in partnership with Independent Fostering Agencies to identify suitable placements for children
• value our foster carers and celebrate and recognise their ongoing contribution to the Family Placement Service
• ensure that all practice promotes equal opportunities for all and values diversity of both looked after children and carers regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnic background, age, religious beliefs, disability or marital status
• ensure that any decisions are transparent and fair, that any concerns are addressed and information about the complaint's procedure is made available to all
• provide a seamless service for foster carers who go on to offer 'Staying Put' arrangements to young adults, previously in our care
• provide a seamless transfer to the Supported Accommodation Team  for supported lodgings hosts following approval
• promote team and personal development and training for staff

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Fostering Service works on the following principles:

We are child focused

The needs, wishes and feelings, welfare and safety of children and young people is paramount and is central to the success of the fostering service. Children and young people will be respected, listened to and safeguarded throughout their time in foster care. As a service, we strive to understand what makes life good for our children and young people.

We are a team

Children and young people's needs cannot be met by one service alone. In order to ensure positive outcomes for all children and young people, the fostering service will work closely with a multitude of agencies, both internally and externally, as well as parents and families, to provide holistic, tailored support that is responsive to the needs of the children and young people.

We are anti-discriminatory

The fostering service will respect human rights and will ensure that there is fair and equal access to all of its services. The services provided will be free from discrimination, prejudice, and racism.

We are prepared

Children and young people should experience as few moves of placement as possible. We will promote stability for children and young people by having tailored support plans in place for our foster carers and offer them a robust and diverse package of training and support.

In addition to the national standards, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Fostering Service has adopted local standards, which underpin its approach to service delivery.

These include:

• responding to enquiries from potential foster carers in a positive and welcoming manner and supporting them through a robust process of assessment and training
• the use of a banded payments system, which recognise the valuable contribution made by foster carers as they develop skills and experience, and relates the payment received to the skills and experience they have developed
• celebrating the achievements of carers, children and young people

The fostering service is provided by staff from the Family Placement Team, which is part of the Children in our Care and Care Leavers service area within Children's Social Care. The team offer a fostering service as well as having responsibility for recruiting and assessing supported lodgings providers.

The Family Placement Team is made up of three specialist teams. The Recruitment and Assessment Team is responsible for the recruitment, assessment, training and pre-approval support of applicants for mainstream and connected fostering and supported lodgings. There are two teams for the supervision and support of approved foster carers; the Post Approval Mainstream Fostering Team has responsibility for approved mainstream foster carers whilst the Kinship Team has responsibility for approved connected carers and those offering permanence to children and young people by means of Special Guardianship. Although each team focuses on their particular area of expertise, the three teams work closely together to ensure there is a cohesive, flexible and seamless approach to the assessment, supervision and support of our fostering and supported lodgings community.

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council provides a range of foster care placements for children in the care of the Local Authority. Foster carers may be registered for one particular type of placement or a variety of placements. The following types of placements are offered:

Short term

These placements range from an overnight stay to several months' duration. In some cases, placements can last for more than a year before a child's plan is finalised, particularly if there are complex court proceedings.

The main purpose of these placements is to provide the child with temporary substitute care when children are unable to remain in the care of their parents and the focus is on supporting the children to return home to birth family or to move on to long term foster care, adoption, or independence. Where appropriate, short-term foster carers can be reassessed and approved as long-term foster carers. The tasks of the foster carers vary in accordance with the child's plan. Children may be placed in an emergency or in a planned way.

Long term 

These placements are for the duration of the child's childhood through or until a significant change within the birth family, which allows for reunification with birth parents. The carer's task is to offer long term substitute care to the child, usually with regular ongoing family time with birth family. These placements are always planned and involve children being carefully matched to the skills and family environment of the long-term foster carer and being placed following a period of introductions. Where children have been placed in a short- term arrangement, and this is subsequently assessed as the most appropriate long-term placement, a thorough matching process will take place to ensure that the child's long-term needs can be met.

Bridging or task centred care

These placements are usually for young people who are placed as an adolescent and the main task of the carers is to prepare the young person for independence or eventual return to birth family. In some instances, these placements may be for younger children and could involve joining siblings together and the task of the carer may be to help prepare the child(ren) to move into a long-term placement. 

Parent and child

A limited number of placements are available for parent and baby placements. The duration of the placement is usually for a matter of months and the task of the foster carer is to support and advise the parent and contribute to any parenting skills assessment that is being undertaken. It may be that the child is placed with the carer under Fostering Regulations and the parent not placed, or both parent and child may be fostered by the fostering family. These placements are usually for parents under the age of 18, however, on occasion this is also available to older parents.

Short breaks for children in our care

The aim of short break placements for children in our care is to support the child and the main carer to promote placement stability. Occasionally short break placements are arranged due to the main carer being unavailable for a short period of time.

Short break respite for children who are not in our care

These placements are mainly used by those children, living within their own birth families, who require, for whatever reason, a series of short breaks away from the family home. The main task of the carer is to provide the child with continuity of care away from home.

Emergency carers

These placements are available to children who require immediate placement outside of normal office hours. The children usually stay in these placements only for a matter of days until a more suitable placement is found.

Connected persons as foster carers

When a decision has been made that the child cannot, for whatever reason, remain in the care of their parents, the Local Authority has a responsibility to consider whether anyone within the child's network of family and friends can safely care for them. In these situations, the children are placed with the connected person after the person has been fully assessed and approved as a foster carer.

If the placement has been made in an emergency under Regulation 24 of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review Regulations (2010), the connected person is given a temporary approval status and a suitability to foster assessment needs to be completed within 16 weeks of the child being placed.

'Staying Put' carers

Young people who have been looked after by foster carers often wish to remain within the family after reaching the age of 18 years. Where this is felt to be in the young person's best interests, and with the agreement of the foster carer, the young person continues to live with the family under a 'Staying Put' arrangement. Staying put arrangements usually continue until the young person reaches the age of 21, unless there are specific circumstances which would require this to be extended, or the young person moves to independence.  As the young people are over the age of 18 years, Staying Put is no longer a fostering arrangement. Foster carers may continue to be approved carers if they are available for other foster placements and, as such, will continue to receive supervision and support via the Fostering Service. Where this is not the case, the Family Placement Team will continue to support the former foster carer whilst the staying put arrangement is in place.

Supported Lodgings hosts

The Supported Lodgings Scheme offers accommodation and support to young people in a family-type setting with supportive adults. The scheme is a steppingstone to independence for young people who are aged 16 and over.   The service is available to Children in Our Care or Care Leavers of either gender or offers the opportunity to live an adult 'Hosts' property. The service is also available to young people who are homeless and are supported under Child in Need. 

Supported lodgings hosts work with the young person to identify areas of support and help them to learn the appropriate skills so that they are ready to move into a less supported environment when the time is right for them.  All young people have their own bedroom within the home which is furnished and maintained to a good standard and have access to all areas of the house including the lounge, kitchen, bathroom for example. These will be shared with the Host and with any other young people who also live in the home. 

Supported Lodgings is suitable for young people whose needs are assessed as being ready for a move to independence within a family-based setting, in line with their Valuing Care Profile and their care or pathway plan. 

Following assessment and approval by the fostering service, supported lodgings providers will be supported to transfer to the Supported Accommodation Team for ongoing training and support.

The following services are provided to:

Registered Foster Carers and Prospective Foster Carers

• advice and information (written or verbal) to those interested in becoming foster carers or supported lodgings providers
• initial visits to people expressing an interest in becoming foster carers or supported lodgings providers
• preparation training for applicants
• assessment and approval of suitability to foster and supported lodgings
• supervision for approved foster carers
• support for foster carers and their families via support groups and social activities
• groups for sons and daughters of foster carers
• post-approval training for foster carers
• allowances or financial support
• equipment
• independent annual foster care reviews
• Emergency Duty Team out-of-hours service
• emergency duty support within office hours via the Fostering Duty Service
• CAMHS consultation service for carers
• advice and mediation service - spot purchase for carers subject to an allegation
• membership of Fostering Network
• respite provision
• consultation with carers over development of the service
• grants for home extension/adaptations in specific cases
• virtual school
• Looked After Children's Nurse

Social work staff who need a placement for a child looked after by the council

• a placement officer and duty social worker are available from 8:30am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and until 4:30pm on Friday
• identification and provision of a range of foster care placements for looked after children
• advice and consultation regarding viability of connected carer placements
• liaison with other agencies to identify suitable placements when none are available from Stockton Fostering Service
• provision of carers for use by the Emergency Duty Team for placements at evening, weekends and Bank Holidays
• out of hours contact with service managers by the Emergency Duty Team
• advice and consultation to social workers regarding general placement issues

On 31 March 2025 there were 168 foster carers formally approved by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, 81 mainstream foster carers and 87 connected carers. Most live within the boundaries of the Borough, however, there are small number who live outside of the Borough.

Recruitment, assessment and approval

The responsibility for recruiting, preparing and assessing prospective mainstream foster carers and supported lodgings providers, and the assessment of connected foster carers lies with the Family Placement Recruitment and Assessment Team.

We aim to place children within the Borough and within their own communities unless it is determined this is not in the best interests of the child or young person.

We promote the need to place children with carers who best reflect and manage the child's assessed needs in terms of emotional, ethnic, racial, cultural, linguistic and religious needs, as well as any needs relating to disability, gender or sexuality.

We are committed to ensuring that children and young people are securely attached to carers capable of providing them with safe and effective care for the duration of their childhood, and as far as is consistent with their welfare, to promote the upbringing of children and young people within their own families.

In situations where placements are not available to meet all the needs of the child or young person, support and information is made available to the carers to help them develop their skills and knowledge to meet the needs of the children.

Recruitment strategy

Foster with North East (FwNE) is the regional recruitment hub for all 12 Local Authorities in the North East of England. They work collaboratively with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council to lead larger scaled activities in the region, including digital, outdoor, radio and TV campaigns. This is supported by the Family Placement Marketing and Recruitment Officer with an ongoing programme of targeted campaigns for the residents of our Borough to recruit specifically for Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. This is detailed in the marketing plan and activity planner. The call to action on all marketing materials directs to the recruitment hub, who are the first point of contact for all new fostering enquiries.

Throughout our recruitment strategy we aim to use, wherever possible, the services of existing experienced foster carers and supported lodgings providers as ambassadors by, for example, attending information sessions. The voice of birth children of foster carers and children in our care will be integrated within our recruitment activity, for example using testimonials and social media.

Recruitment and assessment journey

The process of becoming an approved foster carer is governed by legislation and practice guidance and has three clear parts. We aim for the recruitment of new foster carers to follow the most efficient path, and the following sets out the recruitment and assessment pathway. The fostering service aims to complete stages 1 and 2 of the assessment process concurrently where possible, however, in some circumstances a decision in respect of progressing to Stage 2 will not be made until all Stage 1 checks have been received and reviewed.  Stockton aims to complete assessments of prospective foster carers within 24 weeks.

Assessment of mainstream foster carers

Preliminary stage - seeking information

The expression of interest is completed by Fostering with North East hub and an initial assessment visit booked within one week of receipt.

The expression of interest is shared with the Assessment Team Manager and Marketing and Recruitment Officer and a social worker from the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council recruitment and assessment team is allocated to jointly complete the initial assessment.  The Family Placement Team recognise the importance of this early relationship building with the enquirer and opportunity to provide detailed information about Stockton's fostering offer.   

A decision regarding acceptance of an application from the enquirer will be made within 2 working days of the visit by the Recruitment and Assessment Team Manager and will be communicated to Fostering with North East, who will send all relevant application documentation to the applicant.

Once Registration of Interest forms are received back from the prospective carers and accepted, stage 1 checks will be progressed.

Stage 1 process

Following receipt of the applicant's Registration of Interest Form (RIF) confirmation of acceptance will be confirmed within 5 working days.

The RIF includes consent for statutory checks for all relevant people in the household. References are taken up with all relevant agencies as well as personal referees and current employer. In most circumstances contact will be made with previous partners who have shared a family relationship, adult children and previous employers where the applicant has worked with children or vulnerable adults. An enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service application (DBS) will be made for all household members over the age of 18 years. Medical examinations are carried out by the applicant's GP using the CoramBAAF Medical Form and returned to Stockton's Medical Adviser, for comments and a recommendation.

Applicants will be invited to attend a two-day Fostering Preparation Training Course, which is facilitated by Foster with North East. And a one-day 'Welcome to Stockton' information session. Applicants are encouraged to attend preparation groups; however, it is acknowledged that there may be extenuating circumstances for some applicants, therefore, this will be considered as part of the overall preparation process. Evaluation and feedback is completed by the applicants and training facilitators, which contributes to the overall assessment process.

Stage 2 process

Stage 2 of the suitability to foster assessment is a complex and robust assessment, which focusses on the prospective foster carers' capacity to safeguard and meet the needs of any child placed in their care. The assessment consists of a minimum of six to eight sessions, including individual sessions for each applicant. The topics covered include personal background, history, experiences, parenting experiences, birth children's views, the home environment, health and safety (including pet safety) and the applicant's reflection and understanding of material presented from group sessions. In addition, interviews will be completed with two personal referees as well as former partners and adult children of the applicants.

When all the necessary material is available, the assessment report is completed by the social worker, using contributions from the applicants themselves at appropriate points. The report is quality assured by the Family Placement Registered Manager and is presented to the Fostering Panel, which normally meets every two weeks. Applicants are invited and encouraged to attend the Panel Meeting where the assessment is discussed. The Panel considers the report and makes a recommendation regarding the application. Panel can recommend that applicants are approved, not approved or defer for further information. The recommendation is then approved (or not) by the Agency Decision Maker (Head of Service Children in our Care and Care Leavers). Applicants informed verbally of the decision within 2 working days and notified in writing within 5 days.

If applicants are recommended as not suitable to foster, they then have 28 days from the qualifying determination made by the Agency Decision Maker to accept the qualifying determination, make representation to the fostering service or to apply to have their suitability to foster considered by the Independent Review Mechanism.

Assessment of connected foster carers

Definition of a 'Connected Person'

• a relative of the child, for example grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt, whether full blood or half-blood or by marriage or civil partnership or a step-parent, as defined in section 105 of the 1989 Children Act
• a friend of the child
• a person connected with the child who may be someone who knows the child in a more professional capacity such as a child minder, a teacher of a youth worker, who would not fit the term relative or friend but who may be an appropriate person with whom to place a child because of the pre-existing connection

Where consideration is being given for a child to be placed in foster care with a connected carer, the child's social worker will undertake a Viability Assessment which should consider both the current and the anticipated future needs of the child and how viable it is for the proposed connected person, with the provision of appropriate support, to provide for this child's needs.  Where possible, a social worker from the Family Placement Recruitment and Assessment team will support in completion of the assessment to ensure that the connected person is provided with detailed information about the application, assessment and post approval processes and expectations.

Where a Viability Assessment recommends that a full fostering assessment should be completed, the child's social worker will make a referral to the Family Placement Recruitment and Assessment Team, who are responsible for completing the suitability to foster assessment. The assessment stages will be completed concurrently in line with the process outline above.

In some instances, it is necessary to place children with a connected person in an emergency; in these circumstances a brief assessment will be completed by the child's social worker and agreement sought to place the child under Regulation 24 of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010. Where agreed, the connected carer will be given temporary approval as a foster carer for a period of 16 weeks (which can, in particular circumstances be extended for a further 8 weeks). It is the responsibility of the Recruitment and Assessment Team to complete the full suitability to foster assessment and present it to Fostering Panel and Agency Decision Maker within this period of temporary approval.

Assessment of supported lodgings providers

Supported Lodgings are a form of temporary supported accommodation for young people who are not ready to live independently for a variety of reasons. The young people requiring supported accommodation will be care experienced young people and young people aged from 16 years (and have left school), to 21 years who are either Looked After and or vulnerable young people, who are unable to live in their home environment.

Supported Lodgings Recruitment strategy

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council aims to recruit and maintain a sufficient number and range of supported lodgings hosts, to ensure appropriate placement choice for each young person who needs family based supported accommodation. This includes proactive marketing and recruitment activity, succession planning and retention of the supported lodgings host workforce. In some circumstances a young person may be placed with a connected person who has been assessed and approved as able to offer supported lodgings to that specific young person only.

As well as events in the community and publicity via the media (combined with fostering marketing activity) bi-monthly information sessions will be held with a specific focus on supported lodgings. This will be facilitated by the Marketing and Recruitment Officer, a social worker from the Recruitment and Assessment Team and, where possible, an approved Supported Lodgings host. The focus of the session will be to provide enquirers with information about the assessment and approval process, training and the needs of the young people needing a placement.

We aim for the recruitment of new supported lodgings hosts to follow the most efficient path, and the following sets out the recruitment and assessment pathway.

Preliminary stage - seeking information

Supported lodgings enquiries can be made by telephone or an online enquiry form via the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council website.

The expression of interest is shared with the Assessment Team Manager and Marketing and Recruitment Officer who will allocate two social workers to undertake an initial assessment.  The initial assessment should be booked with the enquirer within 1 week of the initial contact. The Family Placement Team recognise the importance of this early relationship building with the enquirer and the opportunity to provide detailed information about Stockton's offer.   

A decision regarding acceptance of an application from the enquirer will be made within 2 working days of the visit and the allocated social worker will send all relevant application documentation to the applicant.

Once the application form is received back from the prospective hosts a full assessment of the applicants will commence.

Assessment of Supported Lodgings Providers

It is a requirement that supported lodgings hosts have the capacity to offer each young person a bedroom of their own that is furnished and maintained to a good standard. They will also be expected to offer support and guidance to the young person when required and to help him or her towards independence by assisting the young person in a variety of areas, for example to budget, cook, clean and access education or training.

Whilst the process for the assessment of Supported Lodgings Hosts is not set out in legislation it is recognized that as regulated providers of Supported Accommodation under the Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 a robust assessment is required.  Stockton Borough Council mirror the assessment process for mainstream foster carers for all prospective supported lodgings hosts as set out earlier in the Statement of Purpose.

Recommendations in respect of the suitability of supported host applicants to offer supported lodgings are made by the Fostering Panel and a decision made by the Agency Decision Maker (Head of Service Children in our Care and Care Leavers).

Where a qualifying determination is made by the Agency Decision Maker that the prospective host is not suitable to offer supported lodgings, the application can make representations via the Agency but will have no recourse to the Independent Review Mechanism (which is an external Panel limited to fostering only).

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council recognizes the invaluable role that foster carers play in providing quality placements for children in our care. Fostering is a very rewarding experience, but also a challenging one. Good quality supervision, training and support is essential in ensuring foster carers maintain high standards of care and provide children with the safe, stable, healthy and nurturing environments which they need to develop and thrive. Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council is committed to supporting foster carers financially, practically and emotionally to carry out their role.

Responsibility for the support and supervision of approved foster carers lies with the Post Approval Mainstream Team and the Kinship Team. Each foster carer will be allocated a named, suitably qualified supervising social worker to support them in carrying out the fostering task. When placing children with foster carers, the child's social worker is responsible for ensuring that the foster carers receive sufficient information about the child, their family and situation, as well as involving carers in the planning and consultation process. Children's Social Workers should ensure that they also support the foster carer by visiting regularly and maintaining effective communication.

The allocated supervising social worker will supervise the work of the foster carer regularly and will identify and support with training and development needs. The usual minimum frequency for supervision is every six weeks, however, many foster carers have a much higher level of contact than this. In certain situations, the supervision frequency may be less than 6 weekly; this is usually in respect of those foster carers who have limited short break arrangements or where a long term foster care arrangement has been identified as needing less supervision.

In addition to the support provided by supervising social workers, the Family Placement Team facilitate monthly support groups for mainstream foster carers and bi-monthly support groups for kinship carers as well as a monthly therapeutic support group. Additionally the fostering service plan regular celebration and social events for the foster carers as well as their own children. Foster carers also have access to a caravan at Haggerston Castle, allowing them short breaks and the provision of Tees Active Leisure Cards gives opportunities for foster carers and children in our care to use Stockton Council's leisure facilities at a reduced rate.

Regular fostering workshops are provided for foster carers and the fostering service has implemented the Training, Support and Development Standards for Foster Care in relation to foster care induction, training and development. In addition to this in-house training and development, other training opportunities are available through Workforce Development, Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees Safeguarding Children's Partnership as well as links with other fostering agencies and external providers.

All foster carers who are approved by Stockton Fostering Service have their approval reviewed at least once per year. The review will be conducted by an Independent Reviewing Officer and will involve a meeting with the foster carers. The review is also used as a means of giving foster carers the chance to give some feedback on the service they receive from the Department. All annual reviews are submitted to the Agency Decision Maker for a decision in respect of ongoing suitability. Where annual reviews are presented to Fostering Panel for recommendation prior to Agency Decision Maker, the foster carer is invited and encouraged to attend.

Peer support via Mockingbird

Mockingbird is an award winning and pioneering programme led by the Fostering Network UK, which is a model of foster care based on nurturing relationships between children, young people and foster families supporting them to build a resilient and caring community. The below diagram gives an outline of how the model works. Constellations (6 to 10 foster families) come together, supported by a hub home carer and liaison worker, to offer each other support, advice, social activities, learning and development opportunities and some sleepovers.

The fostering service has 3 active Mockingbird constellations and is anticipating the launch of the fourth constellation in May 2025. Mockingbird is currently supporting 39 foster families, including 36 children in our care and 16 other children living in the fostering households.

Support for Carers offering Staying Put arrangements

Young people living with an approved foster carer prior to their eighteenth birthday can remain living with the family once they become an adult. The arrangement, which must be agreed by the young person and their former foster carer, will be known as a staying put arrangement. 

Many carers offering staying put arrangements continue to be approved as foster carers and offer placements to other children and young people. Their training, support and supervision will continue to be provided by their allocated supervising social worker, who will also offer support in respect of their role as a staying put provider.

Where the young person's former foster carer resigns from their role as a foster carer after their eighteenth birthday, the former foster carer will no longer require support and supervision in line with Fostering Regulations. Support will, however, continue to be offered by the fostering service with the continued allocation of a social worker from the relevant post approval family placement team and opportunities to access peer support and training until the staying put arrangement ends.

Complaints and commendations

All service users, including children, foster carers and birth families can utilise the Local Authority's Customer Feedback and Complaints Procedure.

Information about how to make a complaint is given to every prospective foster carer. The Children's Guide, which is given to all children who are looked after by the local authority, includes details of how to make a complaint. Read our Children's Statutory Complaints policy.

Complaints are dealt with in four stages:

Early resolution

Early resolution is an opportunity for the Council to put things right and agree to undertaking actions which will lead to a complaint being resolved within a short time period, usually within five working days. A person can make their complaint over the telephone, by e-mail, in writing or in person to a member of staff. Where a complaint is received by the Information Governance Team the complainant will be contacted by an officer from Children's Services within five working days to better understand their dissatisfaction and attempt to find an early resolution to their complaint. Should it not be possible to resolve the issue at this stage, the complainant can request that the complaint is considered at Stage 1 (Investigation). The complainant will need to provide reasons they remain dissatisfied and what the desired outcome is. This will be given consideration to determine if it is appropriate for further investigation at Stage 1. The Council recommends that complainants submit their requests for consideration of their complaint at Stage 1 within 20 working days of being notified of the outcome of early resolution.

Stage 1 (Investigation)

Where complaints progress to Stage 1, the investigating officer will undertake a full investigation into the complaint, consider the complaint and seek to find possible solutions. An advocate can be provided to assist a child making a complaint and any adult can refer themselves to the Advocacy Service at the Citizens Advice Bureau if required. A written response explaining the outcome is sent to the complainant within 25 working days.

Stage 2 (Review)

If a complainant is not satisfied at the end of Stage 1, they can choose to have the complaint reviewed. Requests for complaints to be reviewed at Stage 2 must include the reasons for the request to progress to the next stage and also the desired outcome. The Council recommends that complainants submit their requests for consideration of their complaint at Stage 2 within 20 working days of receiving the complaint response. A Stage 2 officer will be appointed who will undertake a further investigation and response in writing within 20 working days.

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO)

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) reviews the way that the Council has responded to complaints. The LGSCO will only investigate your complaint once you have completed the Council's complaints procedure, if you have been referred the LGSCO early or if your complaint takes more than 12 weeks to receive a response. You can make a complaint to the LGSCO for free and complaints are investigated independently.

Visit the LGCSO website for more information about how to make a complaint or to find out about its remit.

Monitoring and evaluating the service

Service leads and the Children's Service's Fostering Panel consider matters relating to the placement of children. It is the responsibility of service leads to agree a decision in respect of a child needing to come into our care, whilst Fostering Panel considers the appropriateness of matches for long term placements as well as suitability to foster. The Fostering Panel is chaired independently and consists of internal and external members; the quality and timeliness of work is monitored by the Fostering Panel and reported to the Agency Decision Maker (Assistant Director) on a 6 monthly basis. The Fostering Panel considers themes from suitability to foster assessments as well as the foster carers' annual reviews and long-term fostering matches. The Fostering Panel and service report is shared annually at Corporate Parenting Board.

The Fostering Service is inspected by Ofsted as part of the Local Authority Inspection of Local Authority Children's Services and the reports of these inspections are available to the general public on the Ofsted website.

Monitoring and evaluating the Statement of Purpose and Children's Guide

The Statement of Purpose and Children's Guide are reviewed at least annually by the Family Placement Registered Manager and the Service Managers - Fieldwork and Assessment Lead, Looked After Children and Resources.

It is recognised that the Fostering Service is ever developing and changes to the Statement of Purpose may need to be made more frequently. Therefore, the Statement of Purpose will also need to be reviewed as and when changes take place.

Distribution of Statement of Purpose and Children's Guide

Staff

The documents will be made available to staff.

All staff will be made aware of the documents via staff and management meetings, the intranet and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council website. The responsibility for dissemination of the Statement of Purpose lies with the Family Placement Registered Manager.

Ofsted inspection

Ofsted will receive a copy of the Statement of Purpose and Children's Guide each time they inspect the service or when major changes have taken place. The responsibility for distribution will be with the Family Placement Registered Manager.

Children

The Children's Guide will make children aware of the Statement of Purpose and will include a summary of the information within it. All children at the point of being looked after will receive a copy of the Children's Guide. It is the responsibility of child's social worker to ensure that they are given the Children's Guide.

Foster carers

Foster carers will be informed of the Statement of Purpose and Children's Guide throughout the preparation and approval procedure. The Foster Carers' Handbook will refer to the documents and the way in which foster carers may access the Statement of Purpose. 

Parents

The Parents' Information Pack will refer to the Statement of Purpose and the way in which they may access it. It is the child's social worker's responsibility to ensure the parent is given a Parent Information Pack. The Statement of Purpose can also be accessed via the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council website.

Stockton Family Placement Team

Dunedin House

Columbia Drive

Thornaby

Stockton on Tees

TS17 6BJ

Telephone: 01642 526218

Email: child.placement@stockton.gov.uk

Majella McCarthy

Director of Children's Services,

Children's Social Care Columbia Drive

Thornaby Stockton on Tees TS17 6BJ

Telephone: 01642 393939

Ofsted

Piccadilly Gate

Store Street

Manchester

M1 2WD

You can contact Ofsted on 0300 1231231 or visit the Ofsted website.

The Office of the Children's Commissioner

Sanctuary Buildings

20 Great Smith Street

London

SW1P 3BT

You can contact The Office of the Children's commissioner on 020 7783 8330 or visit The Office of the Children's Commissioner website.

Childline provided by the NSPCC

Weston House

42 Curtain Road

London

EC2A 3NH

Telephone free on 0800 1111 or visit the Childline website.

Further information about fostering can be found at the following websites:

The Fostering Network

CoramBAAF Adoption and Fostering Academy

GOV.UK: Becoming a foster carer

Fosterline

BECOME (Previously The Who Cares? Trust)