Reflective Fostering with NSPCC

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Liverpool City Council Fostering Service are the first in the North West to offer a 'Reflective Fostering' course, in partnership with NSPCC.  The programme launched this year and will be offered to all our foster carers.  The course aims to help foster carers build and maintain supportive relationships, communication and mutual trust with the children in their care.  Over the 10 week course, Foster Carers share and reflect on different scenarios they have experienced, and consider the meanings and motivations behind different behaviours. 

Foster carers are given specific strategies and techniques, to help increase their confidence when dealing with different scenarios, emotions and behaviours that maybe as a result of trauma the child has experienced.

As well as improving their day to day experiences with their foster children, the ultimate goal of the training is to strengthen relationships and trust and to give the children the skills to manage their emotions and grow in confidence and resilience.

Foster carers commented that they have seen an instant benefit to the training and they have already begun to apply their new skills on an everyday basis...

Paula said "It has given us confidence to apply the tools, because we know they are having an impact.  Its about using empathy, seeing things from the child's point of view and gaining a better understanding of yourself, which is a very powerful tool"   

"It will help build the child's confidence, self-esteem, self-respect, ability to do new things, build relationships, and to not be afraid of the big wide world that is out there"

Jason Mather, Course Facilitator (NSPCC) commented "We've received excellent feedback about the course.  The foster carers felt that the training is both child and foster carer centred, and has given them a supportive environment where they can be open and honest about their experiences as carers"  

The reflective fostering course was developed by the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families (AFNCCF) in collaboration with the NSPCC.