Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to train foster parents in enabling children to move out of residential care provision and into a foster home.

The department recognises how challenging a role fostering is, and the skills and dedication that it requires.

Training and preparation is essential for placement stability. As set out in the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 and the National Minimum Standards, foster carers must receive the right training to meet the needs of the children in their care. All foster carers should be able to evidence that the training, support, and development standards for foster care have been attained within 12 months of approval. Foster carers should also maintain a training and development portfolio, as outlined by standard 20 of the national minimum standards.

It is up to local fostering service providers to determine what training they offer so they are able to meet local need. There are many good practice examples of foster carers receiving enhanced or specialist training, for example in life story work and therapeutic approaches.

The department has also funded commissioning and sufficiency projects, which have included innovative work towards delivering suitable foster placements for children leaving residential care. The evaluations of these projects will be published in due course.