Understand the registration process for a foster care business, including background checks, interviews, and supporting documents.

1. Registering Your Foster Care
Business
Planning and Preparation
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2. A guide to help you understand the registration
process for a foster care business; including
background checks, interviews, and supporting
documents.
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www.tcipathway.co.uk

3. The Application
Following the submission of your initial application to register your foster care
business, you will be given an allocated inspector.
The inspector will arrange to meet you for a ‘Registration Visit’, and will ask
you for a number of completed documents.
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4. Ensure That You Have…
A complete Statement of Purpose: A Statement of Purpose is a
document that provides information about an agency and the services it
provides to foster carers, children, young people, parents, and other
professionals. We can provide you with guidance and templates to help you
write one for your business.
Young Person’s Guide: A guide for young people, to help them
understand what being in foster care is all about. It should also tell them what
to do if something makes them unhappy or uncomfortable, whilst in foster
care.
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5. Copyright © 2015 TCI Pathway
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Policies and Procedures
You will also need the following policies and procedures at hand:
• Safeguarding Policy (including allegations against foster carers).
• Staff supervision
• Training and Development
• Recruitment (including safer recruitment)
• Consultation with Young People
• Care Planning
• Complaints
• Missing
• Behaviour Management
• Equality and Diversity
• Health and Safety (including fire)

6. Additional Documents
You may also need to provide:
 Financial reference
 Cash flow forecast
 Information for registration for responsible individual
 Business plan (there are several templates available to help you draft this)
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7. The Registration Visit
Once you have successfully completed your paper application and have all of
the supporting documents ready, a registration visit with your inspector
will be scheduled.
Your registration visit should take place within 16 weeks of Ofsted receiving
your foster care business’s application.
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8. The Registration Visit cont’d
During and following the registration visit, your inspector should:
 Liaise with the Safeguarding Board and check all your policies and
procedures.
 Prepare and schedule a ‘Fit Person Interview’ if one has not yet been
arranged.
 Identify Panel Chair and evidence proper recruitment process.
 Ensure proper recruitment process is evidenced for appointment of
registered manager.
 Produce foster care recruitment policy.
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9. The Registration Visit cont’d
 … Prepare foster care training.
 Prepare for allocation of initial visits at the foster care agency.
 Confirm health checks and DBS checks are all satisfactory.
 Various other activities if necessary.
Please be aware that this is not an exhaustive list of tasks that need to be
undertaken; however, it should provide you with a basic summary.
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10. Everything starts with a conversation, so let’s talk:
Safaraz Ali
Linkedin: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/safaraz
Twitter Handle: @SafarazAli
Tel: 0121 707 0550
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www.tcipathway.co.uk