Diverse Care
Children's
Guide
Hi there!
I am Fuzzy.
I will take you through our Children's Guide,
answer some of the questions that you may have
and support you in understanding what you can do
if you have any worries.
Fostering is about looking after
children in a safe and happy home
when they can’t live with their own
families.
We will do all we can to support children just like
you, when you are being looked after by one of our
foster families. Your foster family will do their best
to make sure you have all of the things that
support your learning, health and happiness. Your
foster family and your social worker will do their
best to help you keep in contact with the people
who are important in your life.
Diverse Care has something called a “Statement of
Purpose” that tells you all the things we do and
things we think are important for you.
Xcel 2000 & Diverse Care are two fostering
organisations who work together to form The
Hazel Project. Your foster parents work with
Diverse Care and are therefore part of The Hazel
Project.
Diverse Care
Children's Guide
Our Statement Of Purpose
Our Statement of Purpose tells you who we are, what we
do, and how we’re here to support you.
Diverse Care helps children who cannot live with their
own families. We aim to find amazing foster homes
for children and, when we can, help them return to
their birth families. We work closely with local
authorities, foster parents, and the child's family.
We find foster parents that meet the needs of every
child, thinking about all of the things that make them
special. We give training and support to foster
parents to make sure children are cared for and have
good educational opportunities.
We offer different types of foster care, including
emergency, short, medium, and long-term
placements, parent and child placements (where
foster parents support a birth parent in caring for their
child), and care for young people remanded by local
authorities.
We find, assess, and approve foster parents. We give
them support and training, and carefully match
children with the best family for them.
We know that every child is unique, and their welfare
is the most important thing. We believe children have
a right to feel safe, respected, and supported to reach
their dreams and goals.
Social Worker (SW)
Your social worker will visit you to see how you are
doing. Some of what they do is to make sure you
are safe, happy and being well looked after.
They will listen to your wishes and feelings and
where possible, support your family to be able to
care for you again. Your social worker works for the
local authority. It is the local authority’s job to make
sure that every child is safe and happy.
Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO)
You will have your own IRO, just like Fuzzy does
and it is your IRO’s job to
check that the local
authority are doing
everything they can
to make you happy
while you are
staying with your
foster family and
speak up for what
they feel is best for
you.
Who’s who?
Fostering Supervisor (FS)
Like you, your foster family has their own social
worker, these are called fostering supervisors.
They are there to look after you and your foster
family to make sure they have what they need to
keep you safe, healthy and happy. They will talk to
your social worker and will come to some of your
meetings. They will also visit you and ask to speak
to you by yourself sometimes, but you can also ask
to speak to your fostering supervisor at any time.
Fuzzy loves having a chat with their fostering
supervisor!
Education & Engagement Team
Somebody from the team will meet you and they
will support you whilst you are at school. They will
come to your meetings at school and may visit you
and your foster family to talk about your school,
your learning & goals.
They also organise lots of fun events and activities
that you will be invited to!
These are all about you! It is important that whilst
you are living away from your family, that you are
safe, happy and being well looked after.
The meetings take place so that we can learn more
about you and your life with your foster family and
what is important to you.
Your family, wishes & feelings, friends, food,
religion, pocket money, your bedroom, health,
school, hobbies and anything else that is important
to you will all be spoken about at these meetings.
Why do I have meetings and
what are they for?
The important people in your life will come to your
meetings, these could be your parents, brothers &
sisters, teacher, foster parents, your social worker
and of course YOU!
If there is anyone you want to come to the
meetings, it is important that you tell your foster
parents, social worker or fostering supervisor this.
Fuzzy thinks it is very important for you to go to
these meetings as they give you the chance to tell
everyone how you feel and think and be listened
to.
Who will be there?
Can I stay at my school?
Some children are able to stay at their school. If any
plans are made or anything changes, your social
worker and foster parents will always talk to you
about this. Don’t forget, your foster parents, social
worker and fostering supervisor are always there to
talk to and to listen to you.
What about school?
Who will help me?
The Education & Engagement Team will support
you with finding the best school for you and make
sure that you have everything you need to support
you at school. They will meet with you and listen to
your wishes and interests.
Fuzzy says that school
is important for every
child because it is where
you learn new things
and make new friends!
What if I have to change schools?
When you move to your foster family you may
need to change schools or you may be able to
travel to the school you go to now.
If you do have to change schools, your foster
parents will always be there to support you with
any worries or sad feelings you may feel. Fuzzy has
changed schools and enjoyed making new friends!
While you are living with your foster family, you
should feel safe and looked after. They will support
you and always talk to you about anything that is
worrying you.
When Fuzzy isn’t happy, this is what he does to
help and if you’re feeling unhappy, you can do
these things too:
Speak to your foster parents
Speak to your social worker
Speak to your fostering Supervisor
Speak to anyone at Diverse Care
They will usually be able to support you with any
problems you are having. They will listen to you
and make sure you are being well looked after.
What do I do
if I have any
worries?
If you don’t want to do that, you can speak to our
trusted staff member who you can share any
worries you may have and how you are feeling.
You can call the Diverse Care office on 01634 890
431 and ask for the complaints person.
If you have tried this and are still worried or not
happy, our trusted staff member can help you
contact Ofsted. Ofsted are people that make sure
Diverse Care are doing their job well. The person
you need to contact is:
The Chief Inspector
Telephone: 0300 123 1231
Email: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk
Address: Clive House, 70 Petty France, London
SW1H 9EX
You can also have the support of other safe adults,
called advocates - they can also support you with
any problems.
An independent advocate is someone that can
support you with having your say. They have
worked with children for a long time. They will
listen to any worries that you have and will support
you in making it better. They can help you to write
a letter, make calls on the phone and help you get
ready for any meetings. They can also support you
if you’re not happy and need to tell someone about
it.
Every local authority has their own advocate. Speak
to your foster parent or social worker to find out
who your advocate is or ask
them to speak to us
and we will find out
for you.
What is an Advocate?
There are other
advocacy services
available too;
Coram Voice
Telephone: 0808 800 5792
National Youth Advocacy Service
Telephone: 0808 808 1001
What are children’s rights?
Children and young people, like you, have rights.
Rights are rules that make sure that you are happy
and looked after. Your rights are written down in
something called the Children & Families Act 2014
and in the UN Convention on the Rights of the
child.
As a child you have the right to:
Be treated fairly and kindly
Be listened to
Have a school to go to
Other things which
make you happy
If you feel your rights are
not being met, it is
important that you speak
to someone who you trust
about this. You might choose
your teacher, foster parent
or social worker.
Children's Rights
The children’s commissioner is
someone who makes sure your
rights are respected and that
you are being looked after.
The children’s commissioner can:
Tell you what your rights are
Tell you what social services can do to support
you
Listen to what is happening in your life
Speak to the other people for you, if you want
that
Make sure other people know what your rights
are
You can get support from the children’s
commissioner if you:
Have a social worker or get support from social
services
Think you need a social worker or support from
social services
The children’s commissioner is: Rachel De Souza.
Her phone number is: 0207 783 8330.
Who is the Children’s
Commissioner?
Fuzzy hopes that he has answered your questions
and supported you in knowing what to do if you
have any worries!
Don’t forget, if you are not sure about something
or are feeling sad, tell your foster parents, social
worker or fostering supervisor and they can help
and support you!
Notes