Training & Support

Fostering with Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council offers many benefits that really can make the difference when you become a foster carer. We support you every step of the way and there will always be someone there when you need them.

• Generous financial allowance which will depend on your skill level and the age of the child you are fostering.
• Comprehensive training programme including the ‘Journey to Foster’ course and ongoing development opportunities.
• A social worker specifically allocated to you. You can expect to receive regular meetings which are a chance for you to talk through any problems and share information about children in your care.
• Support groups for you and your family. It is important you and your children are looked after.
• We pay for your FosterTalk membership. FosterTalk’s sole aim is to provide good quality independent support to foster families across the UK.
• An agreement with BwD Leisure for all Blackburn with Darwen Foster Carers and SGO Carers to have the same Gym Membership rates as Corporate Employees at £15.95 per person.
• In-house REVIVE Team which consists of a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Clinical Psychologist, CAMHS Practitioners and Play Therapists. The team provides consultation to professionals, carers and families. The team also provides direct therapeutic work, such as Play Therapy, with children and young people and therapeutic work focussed on attachment issues between young people and their carers. They deliver multi agency training around Attachment, Developmental Trauma, direct work skills, and a parenting course for foster carers.

• Lower travelling distances, for example to school, meetings and contact with children’s birth families.
• Links with Children’s Centres, schools and other professional services.

You will also benefit from our knowledge and experience as our teams have often been working with the child’s families for a long time. Here at Blackburn with Darwen we know the children in our care really well, it helps us to match children with the carers who are most suitable for them and their circumstances. This also means we can support you to get to know them and their background quickly and help them settle in.