Adoption and Foster Carer Preparation Groups Information Evenings and events
West Berkshire Family Placement Team have introduced a new streamlined process to help enquirers work through the training and approval stages of becoming a foster carer. If you are considering making an application the details below may help you decide to contact us for further details. Those interested in adoption are encouraged to come along to an adoption information evening to understand the process better prior to making an enquiry.
Information Events & Evenings.
Stop Press
Our next Fostering Information evening is on Thursday May 23rd as part of our Fostering Fortnight activities with our unitary partners and is from 5.30pm until 7.30pm at Shaw House, Church Road, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2DR
The drop in event is your chance to find out more about Fostering in an informal setting and
learn what our plans are for helping you succeed in 2013. Talk to the experts and those who
have been there and done that, survived and thrived.
Information events and evenings are a key part in the process of deciding if Adoption or Fostering is for you and are held periodically in venues across West Berkshire. They provide you with access to social workers,adopters, foster carers and sometimes young people themselves so that you can get a feel about what being a carer involves.Those living anywhere in West Berkshire can attend an information event/evening prior to making an enquiry or after initiating an application. The events are held purely to allow you to ask the questions that are important to you in deciding if Fostering or Adoption are for you. Attending does not commit you to proceed.
Those at the early stages of enquiry and information gathering can come and chat to workers, foster carers and adopters in an informal setting about how the process works and how you can engage with it. Please do come along if your have and interest in Fostering and/or Adoption and we will be delighted to see and talk to you about what both teams have to offer. If you would like to register your interest in attending please contact the duty worker on 01635 503155 reference adoption/fostering information events. We will be delighted to see you at an information event and look forward to the opportunity of explaining the various types of adoption, short breaks and fostering roles we are looking to recruit for.
Adoption Information Mornings
Adoption Information Mornings are the first part of the official adoption application process and are designed to give potential adopters a chance to find out in depth about the process and the needs of children requiring adoption. The information morning is the first part of the Adoption Preparation Group sessions and whilst contributing to the modules involved are designed to offer you the opportunity to proceed or withdraw once you know more about the process and the requirements of the Berkshire Unitary Authorities Consortium.
The next Adoption information morning is planned for the 10th May and will be held in a location in Windsor & Maidenhead. The next session will be on the 4th June in Wokingham and following this the next session will be held on the 3rd July in Slough. West Berkshire are scheduled to hold their next Information Morning on the 12th September at a location in Newbury. All those interested in attending should contact Family Placement Duty in the first instance.
There will be further information events (9.30 am until 1.00 pm) run during 2013 by our partner authorities and ourselves as part of the Berkshire Adoption Consortium and we hope to publish the complete itinery for the rest of 2013 in the near future. These information days are an essential stage for those wishing to be considered for assessment as adoptive parents. For full details of these events and to be considered for inclusion it is important to contact the Family Placement Team on 01635 503155 ref. Adoption Information Days as soon as possible. Couples are expected to attend the session (in full) with their partners.
Preparation Groups.
Preparation groups are part of the formal training programme for adopters and foster carers and involve joining with other prospective carers in a series of training days designed to help inform and train you in the role. Backed up by a home study and assessment programme (which for foster carers can run even before the preparation group commences) an initial enquiry and home visit followed by a CRB check is all that is required to be considered for entry into these training modules. Couples are expected to attend the sessions (in full) with their partners.
Adoption
There will be preparation groups run during 2013 with our partner authorities in the Berkshire Consortium. West Berkshire Family Placement Team will be running an adoption prep group locally on 17th April, 24th April and 1st May. The next preparation group will be run by Bracknell on the 1st July,8th July and the 9th July. The final group of the year will be run by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and will be on the 8th, 22nd and 29th October. A group is also in planning at this stage for January 2014.
Fostering
The following are provisional Fostering prep group dates :-
Mid Year Group
22nd June
28thJune
6th July
End Year Group
16th November
22nd November
30th November
Our programme for 2013 will offer more frequent preparation group opportunities as we collaborate with our Berkshire Unitary Partners to offer maximum access and flexibility in the availability of our groups. If you require further details on these or any other foster carer events please contact us on 01635 503155 or e mail familyplacementduty@westberks.gov.uk
To make an initial enquiry fill in our online form at the following link or ring 01635 503155 and ask to speak to the duty worker reference adoption or fostering during office hours Mon-Fri 9am to 4.30 pm.
http://www.westberks.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=18922
