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 work with your social worker to complete a health and safety assessment/checklist; see Local Resources to view the checklist. This will be continually reviewed by your Social Worker and annually your health and safety checklist will be reviewed at panel. In addition, there may be additional risk assessment completed, e.g., firearms, pet assessment, holiday homes and swimming pools and advise shared in relation to safe sleep practices when caring for babies and young children.

Your home as a suitable environment

Your home should be warm, comfortable and decorated, maintained to a good standard of cleanliness and hygiene and be in good order throughout. Your home needs to be a welcoming environment where children are safe from harm or abuse as well as bullying.

Therefore, floors and surfaces in your home should be clear of obvious hazards and clutter to enable a frequency of cleaning in spaces used communally and by the children and young people in your care.

Repairs should be maintained within the home and garden and any pet odours should be considered in addition to general cleanliness in pet care due to a child/ young person’s potential health needs such as asthma and eczema-related illnesses. 

You must ensure your home and contents insurers are informed that you are caring for foster children in your home and that the insurers have given written confirmation of this fact. You should keep a copy of the letter you send to insurers so that even if you do not receive a reply, you have proof that you have notified the company.

Your 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.

Sometimes you will be asked to purchase equipment and the fostering service will then reimburse you. See Equipment list for how much the fostering service will contribute towards each item.

If you have equipment that is old or in a poor condition that needs replacing, it is your responsibility to dispose of this. Please do not return to the fostering service for disposal. You should let your Social Worker know you have disposed of the equipment. The fostering service expects you to decorate and furnish the room(s) available for fostering before your first placement. The room(s) should be large enough to fit a bed and suitable storage for clothes and toys.

See also: Equipment list.

We recommend soft furnishings such as curtains and sofas should be non-flammable and compliant with UK fire safety regulations.

Any blind cords should be kept short and secured out of children’s reach to prevent strangulation.

Floor coverings need to be in good order to prevent trip hazards.

Items of decorative nature for example ceremonial swords need to be safeguarded as appropriate to a home where children will be living.

Heavy items of furniture should be secured to the wall.

The whole family should decide on a fire exit strategy that identifies which exits you might use. You will need a fire safety plan which is reviewed annually, including a floor plan of exits in your home.

The foster home should have smoke alarms, one on each floor of the house. You should make sure batteries are changed annually and alarms are tested frequently.

You should avoid multi-way adapters as these are a fire hazard.

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.

You should store matches and flammable liquids safely out of the reach of any child.

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.

See: Fire Escape Plan.

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

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

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. Some range cookers may need an additional guard to prevent burns.

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, cleaning materials, medicines, glue and aerosols should be stored safely and securely out of the reach of any child.

If you have a swimming pool or a pond it should be covered, fenced off, or drained. Individual risk assessments should be completed for hot tubs, saunas, or any other outdoor facilities. 

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

Any outbuildings 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. Any animal faeces should be removed immediately.

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. 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 and where they sleep. 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 child unsupervised with a dog, even for a moment, no matter how well you know that dog'.

Care should equally be taken around cats in the foster home - where they are allowed to go, where they sleep, where they are fed and where they go to the toilet. Consideration regarding their nature should also be taken into account by the social worker.

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

Other animals which might be considered dangerous, for example, snakes or other reptiles need to be housed in a safe place so that children can’t be harmed by them.

Where children have allergies to pets (for example in relation to asthma or eczema) you should talk to your 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.

The home should have enough bedroom space for each child placed. Consideration should be given to the child's needs, for example if there are accessibility requirements. Every child over the age of three should have their own bedroom. If this is not possible then please speak with your supervising social worker. A risk assessment needs to be in place considering the child's history, their wishes and feelings and any other important information. As good practice, bunk beds and cabin beds are not suitable for children under 6 years of age, due to the risk of injury. 

If there are concerns about any aspects of your home, then your 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 a report will go to the fostering panel to consider your approval.

Your Social Worker will support and guide you to creating and maintain 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.