The Foster Home and Health and Safety

Foster homes must be safe and secure, protect children from harm or the risk of harm, and provide a comfortable environment for children.

As part of your preparation to foster, you will have been provided with training on health and safety and on what your responsibilities are as a carer. You will have completed a health and safety checklist, which will be reviewed at least annually by your Supervising Social Worker.

Foster homes should provide a warm and welcoming environment where children are safe from harm or abuse as well as bullying. The home should be clean and well-maintained including decor.

All carers must complete a First Aid course every three years and there should be a basic First Aid box available in the home.

Usually, foster carers who hold guns will be asked if they can surrender them before fostering. If this is not possible, carers must have a current license and store the guns strictly within the legal guidelines.

Your Supervising Social Worker will talk to you about any safety equipment the Fostering Service may be able to offer. All necessary adaptions and equipment will be provided.

Any equipment provided by the fostering service is on loan and must be returned at the end of the placement. These discussions will include your arrangements for transport including car seats etc.

It would be anticipated that most babies if they are sharing with the carers, would move into their own room by the age of 12 months.

Bunk beds are not recommended for young people over the age of 14 and children under 5 should not sleep in the top bunk. There should always be a secure ladder to assist with accessing the top bunk.

Cots must carry the British Kite or CE mark and a new cot mattress must be purchased for each placement of a child under one or the mattress should have been fitted with a made-to-measure cover at the time of purchase.

If your home has an accessible cellar or attic, it is important to ensure these are kept locked at all times.

Front and back doors need to be fitted with childproof locks or locks which cannot be reached by younger children.

Stair banisters need to be filled in or have a maximum of 10cms between the rails. Where young children are placed there should be a stair gate at the top and bottom of the staircase.

The whole family should decide on a fire exit strategy that identifies which exits you might use. You should consider the best way to safely leave your home in the event of a fire. All family members should be involved in regular fire drills. Consider the different ways that would be best to leave the home depending on where the fire is and if it is night or daytime.

The foster home should have smoke alarms, one on each floor of the house. You should make sure batteries are changed as needed. The Fire service offers a free safety check, and some provide and install smoke alarms. Search for your local Borough fire service and contact them for an appointment.

You should avoid multi-way adapters as these are a fire hazard. Carers are asked to ensure that electrical wiring is safe, fitted with a trip device, and plugs are not overloaded (all homes fitted with an RCD protected fuse board are automatically fitted with a trip device).

Gas fires and boilers must be serviced annually. A battery-operated carbon monoxide detector should be installed. Patch style detectors are not sufficiently sensitive.

When doors and windows are locked e.g., at night, all members of the house including the foster child should know where to find the keys in the case of an emergency. Upstairs side opening windows should be kept locked, and the keys kept in the carer's bedroom for a quick exit in the event of a fire. Keys can be kept in upstairs windows provided restrictors are in place.

You should store matches and flammable liquids safely out of the reach of any child. Fireplaces must have guards, open fires must be regularly cleaned, and chimneys swept.

Kitchen

You should make sure that all appliances are safe and in good working order.

There should be no leads from kettles or irons hanging where a child could pull them.

When you are cooking turn pan handles towards the back of the cooker so they cannot be pulled, and, if you have small children, use a stair gate to keep them out of the kitchen. You should consider fitting a cooker guard.

Cat litter trays should not be kept in the kitchen and must be kept out of reach of children.

Toxic/hazardous substances, such as bleach, washing powders/capsules, cleaning materials, medicines, glue, and aerosols should be stored safely and securely out of the reach of any child. Where approval is sought for children under twelve, knives and other sharp objects should be kept out of reach and for under-five’s cupboard doors should be fitted with child safety locks or a gate fitted to the kitchen door to prevent small children getting into cupboards. 

Where children have allergies, preventative measures should be detailed in their Care and Placement Plans and Health Care Plan - for example following good hygiene routines in terms of utensils and crockery, hand washing, avoiding cross contamination in the kitchen area, checking labels for allergens and any agreed allergen avoidance in the home.

Bathroom

Electrical switches must be of the pull-cord variety or outside the bathroom. Where under-fives are living in the home, all shampoos, soaps etc. should be stored out of reach. Chemicals such as hair dye and cleaning materials etc. should be locked away or kept in high cupboards.

There should be a lock on the bathroom door out of reach of small children. The lock should have release mechanism enabling the door to be opened from the outside in an emergency.

Carers are asked to ensure that the hot water system is fitted with a thermostat to avoid scalding.

Medicines should be kept in a secure cupboard or locked container out of reach of young children, either in the bathroom or elsewhere.

If you have a swimming pool or a pond it should be covered, fenced off, or drained. Water features need to be covered with weight-bearing metal or a wooden frame and fenced off. Sandpits must be covered when not in use in order to keep them clean and any swings, slides etc. must be well secured. Please discuss with your supervising social worker if you are planning to build a pool or pond.

Any chemicals should be kept in a locked, safe place which children cannot access.

Any out-buildings such as garages and sheds should be locked. 

If you have slides and swings, they should be secure with a soft surrounding area. 

A greenhouse/shed should be in good repair and any glass should be away from the play area or made of toughened glass. 

Barbecues should be closely supervised, and children should never be left unattended near them. Barbecues can remain hot for a long period of time after use, and they should be damped down once finished with. Children should not be allowed to light barbecues. Never leave barbecues unattended.

If children play unsupervised in the garden, then gates and fences should be secure. Children should not play unsupervised in paddling pools as children can drown even in very shallow water.

Some fairly common garden plants are poisonous, and some are fatal. Children may eat berries and think they are okay. Poisonous plants should not be in the garden. e.g. laburnum, foxglove, yew If they already are, you should remove them.

You should not keep a dog which comes within the scope of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, either because it is a banned type of dog (any dog of the type known as the pit bull terrier; Japanese Tosa; Dogo Argentino; Fila Brasiliero; XL Bully), or a dog (of any breed/type) which is dangerously out of control, including on private premises. It would not be appropriate to place a child in a household where such a classified dog is being kept. Considerations in relation to dogs will include where/how they are kept. A Review conducted by Public Health Wales concluded that the most important piece of advice for members of the public is 'to never leave a baby or young child unsupervised with a dog, even for a moment, no matter how well you know that dog'.

As part of your assessment and the annual review, consideration may also be given to the breeding of animals and/or working animals in relation to the impact of the welfare of the child/young person in your care.

Where children have allergies to pets (for example in relation to asthma or eczema) you should talk to your Supervising Social Worker about how best to minimize the effects.

If you do have pets, you should keep their areas including the garden clean and regularly changed Whilst pets are wonderful for children, they can also carry disease and potentially cause injury. Carers need to be aware of the individual risks with individual animals, for example, the danger of worms spreading from dogs and cats to children.

The assessing social worker will complete separate questionnaires for each animal during the assessment and at the foster carer’s annual review to ensure they are safe with children.  It is the carer’s responsibility to inform the Supervising Social worker if new pets join the family (this does not include fish or small caged pets).

If you are concerned at any time about the safety of fostered children with your pets (including if the pet’s behaviour to the child, or the child’s behaviour to the pets is of concern) you should immediately talk to your supervising social worker and take steps to ensure the child’s safety.

Recreation

Looked after children are not permitted to use BB guns or take part in shooting birds or other animals. If a young person wishes to join a shooting club this should be discussed with their social worker.

Carers who keep guns must have a current license and store them within the legal guidelines.

Carers need to ensure that any children taking part in horse riding are sufficiently competent to keep themselves safe in most situations and are dressed appropriately. It is also essential that the owner of the horse has appropriate insurance cover.

Trampolines must not be used without an enclosure.

Swimming pool safety will be discussed as part of your assessment.  Please discuss with your Supervising Social worker if you are planning to build a pool.

Children under twelve should be supervised at all times even if playing in inflatable paddling pools.

If there are concerns about any aspects of your home, then your Supervising Social Worker will discuss this with you and a period of time will be given to resolve the issue. If the issue remains a significant concern and are not resolved, then an annual review will be held, and a report will go to the fostering panel to consider your approval.

Your Supervising Social Worker will support and guide you to creating and maintaining a safe and caring environment. They will also help you with developing your Safer Caring Plan (see Developing a Safer Caring Plan).

This information will be reviewed and amended along with any changes in legislation to make sure you provide the safest possible family home.