Positive Relationships and Behaviour Support

Community Foster Care are committed to a holistic approach that draws on established theoretical bases, research, best practice and guidance in order to promote and develop positive behaviours. We believe in a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding and supporting children. There is an acknowledgment and commitment that our foster carers cannot and should not be expected to manage what can be behaviour that challenges in isolation in the absence of guidance and a shared understanding and agreement with regards to the strategies of support available.

Community Foster Care are committed to gaining and sharing a robust assessment of need that determines the approach to be taken and the most effective matching of foster carers. The referral information, Placement Plan and reviews are central to the ongoing planning and evaluation of the support in relation to behaviour. The Agency ensures that, in relation to any child placed or to be placed with a foster carer, the foster carer is given such information, which is kept up to date, as to enable them to provide appropriate care and support for the child, and in particular that each foster carer is provided with a copy of the most recent version of the child's care plan. Each foster carer is aware of all the necessary information available to the Agency about a child's circumstances, including any significant recent events, to help the foster carer understand and predict the child's needs and behaviours and supports the child within their household. The Agency follows up with the responsible authority where all such necessary information has not been provided by the authority.

Community Foster Care's approach to behaviour support:

• Aims to create a safe, caring environment;
• Ensures that all children have opportunities to become confident and achieve their full potential;
• Encourages the child's consultation and participation in setting rules and consequences;
• Recognises that some behaviours can present as aggressive, violent or destructive at times and that foster carers will be supported to regulate, understand and support the child with these behaviours whilst providing the child with continuing acceptance and emotional support;
• Focuses on building a good relationship with the child based on mutual respect, trust and an unconditional acceptance of the child;
• Ensues that all children and young people understand how positive
• Establishes house rules and boundaries with the child which are consistent, explicit and where possible, applicable to all children in the household;
• Understands and acknowledges the past life experiences which children bring into the home;
• Uses age and developmental stage appropriate consequences but only as necessary and not as routine. Consequences will be logical and linked to behaviour. Children will be supported to complete these consequences;
• Provides support and training to the foster carer/s to support them in their role;
• Encourages foster carers to celebrate success with the child so that the child can experience joy in their relationships and reward the child  appropriately;
• Accepts the individuality of children and young people and celebrates the diversity of their backgrounds;
• Recognises that placements are different, unique and represent many notions of family, yet they share a common value base.

Foster carers and staff play an important part in the day-to-day life of a child, therefore good parenting, supported by training on managing behaviour will enable them to achieve and develop a more positive relationship with the child and a more harmonious life and will enable the child to feel good about themselves.

Community Foster Care's approach to positive behaviour support ensures that:

Foster carers provide an environment and culture that promotes, models and supports positive behaviour.

A healthy dialogue is in place so changes to rules can happen as the child matures or if these rules are no longer needed for example being left on their own in the house, later bed times etc.

Children are enabled to build trusted and secure relationships with their foster carers, who know them well, listen to them, spend time with them, protect them and promote their welfare. Children are enabled to develop an appropriate sense of permanence and belonging and are fully included in their foster carers' family lives.

The care and help from foster carers assists children placed with them to develop a positive self-view and to increase their ability to form and sustain attachments and build emotional resilience and a sense of their own identity. This care and help also supports them to overcome any previous experiences of neglect and trauma.

Foster carers are prepared and supported by the Agency to manage the behaviour of children placed with them and situations arising from and leading to this behaviour.

Foster carers are expected to understand, manage and deal with children's behaviour including encouraging them to take responsibility for their behaviour and helping them to learn how to resolve conflict. Foster carers have positive strategies for effectively supporting children where they encounter discrimination or bullying wherever this occurs.

Children are able to develop and practice skills to build and maintain positive relationships, be assertive and to resolve conflicts positively. Children are encouraged to take responsibility for their behaviour in a way that is appropriate to their age and abilities. Foster carers respect the child's privacy and confidentiality, in a manner that is consistent with good parenting.

All foster carers receive training in positive care and behavioural support of children, including training in de-escalating problems and disputes.

All foster placements will have clear, consistent and fair boundaries, to enable children to feel safe, encouraged and appropriately rewarded, to help ensure that they will thrive and do well and to contribute to a feeling of well-being and security for children.

The culture of the household, generated by the carers, is crucial.

When caring for foster children, foster carers should at all times endeavour to:

• Listen to and empathise with children, respect their thoughts and feelings and take their wishes into consideration;
• Look for things that are going well, or any step in the right direction, and appropriately reward it;
• Use rewards in a creative and diverse way, specific to children's needs, capabilities and interests. This may mean that children are rewarded with activities or rewards that they enjoy. But all 'tangible' rewards should be accompanied by use of 'non tangible' encouragement and support – by carers demonstrating to children that they have done well. Such 'non tangible' rewards include smiling and praising children;
• Make sure that children are aware of the things that they have done well. This should involve prompt verbal feedback, along with clear recording in the child or young person’s file. All ‘tangible’ rewards should be clearly identified.

Children usually benefit, early on, from rewards which may appear to outweigh that of what is expected. This is normal; over time rewards can be more relevant as children's self-esteem and skills improve.

For example:

• Children who have few social or life skills and whose self-esteem and confidence is low may require forms of encouragement and reward which are intensive, frequent or even excessive in order to help/remind them that they are doing well and appreciated;
• A child who has previously been unable to get up for school may be offered an incentive for getting up on time for a few days.

Over time, as children achieve what is expected, such rewards should be reduced or children should be expected to achieve more for the same or a similar reward.

The PACE model can help a foster carer work successfully with a child.

PACE stands for:

(Sometimes 'L' for Love is included, making PLACE).

All carers will have house rules, routines and rituals which set out the expectations for how things are managed within the home. Helping the child understand these rules, routines and rituals helps the child have a sense of understanding, belonging and safety.

These house rules should be recorded on the placement plan and in the safe caring document.

The Agency's approach means that:

All foster carers receive training to support children with behaviour that challenges, including training in de-escalating techniques.

The use of restorative practices can help improve relationships, increase children's sense of personal responsibility and reduce the need for formal police intervention. The Agency's approach to care is designed to minimise the need for police involvement to deal with behaviour that challenges and avoid criminalising children unnecessarily. Proactive and effective working relationships with the police help to support and protect children. The Agency and carers work with the police to protect children from any unnecessary involvement in the criminal justice system.

Children are encouraged and helped to develop skills and strategies to manage their own conflicts and difficult feelings through developing positive relationships with carers.

Children should receive help to manage their behaviour and feelings safely.

Positive behaviour is promoted consistently. Foster carers use effective de-escalation techniques and creative alternative strategies that are specific to the needs of each child and planned in consultation with them where possible.

Foster carers receive support on how to manage their responses and feelings arising from caring for children, particularly where children display behaviour that challenges, and understand how children's previous experiences can manifest in behaviour.

Difficult behaviour in children can occur for a number of reasons, for example:

• As a way of expressing emotions;
• As a result of developmental delays or learning disability;
• As a result of attachment/relationship difficulties with family and carers;
• Learned behaviours/past experiences in which challenging responses have become habit in the face of frustration or anxiety.

It is helpful if staff and carers can understand the causes of the child's behaviour and provide the child with help and support.

When working with, or caring for, children with behaviour that challenges it is useful to bear in mind the following:

• The age and emotional maturity of the child including any disabilities;
• That the aim of any positive behaviour approach is to help the child learn how to behave more appropriately and not to punish or to purely keep the child under control;
• Difficult behaviour should not result in emotional distance between the child and the carer;
• No matter how difficult or challenging a child's behaviour, carers should never resort to similar behaviour;
• The more carers are able to understand a child's behaviour and are able to meet their needs in a consistent manner, the less likely they are to encounter difficulties in the future.

Children need consistency and acceptance and to know what is expected of them.

The key points of a positive behaviour approach are:

• The rules are discussed with the child and their family/carers so that their views can be taken into account;
• A healthy dialogue is in place so changes to rules can happen as the child matures or if these rules are no longer needed for example being left on their own in the house, later bed times etc;
• Foster carers should be honest about any non-negotiable issues, such as smoking on the premises;
• Rules need to be realistic and positive and make sense to everyone concerned for example ideally phrased as a "do" rather than a "do not";
• Children may need to be reminded in a supportive way of the expectations we have regarding their behaviour and of why we have rules. 

It is important to consider that a child may have disabilities that affect their behaviour, social skills, communication and understanding so require extra help with behaviour support.

Foster carers need to be aware that children under pressure can have strong feelings of frustration, distress or anger. For example, acknowledging that a child's feelings are legitimate may help them to understand that their behaviour e.g. hitting out or swearing is not OK.

It is important to work with the multi-disciplinary team to work out a positive approach to supporting the child with their behaviours. This plan should be followed by all to ensure that the child receives consistent messages around what is expected. Ongoing support around behaviours may be needed to keep the child safe and healthy.

Foster carers are not permitted to conduct body searches, pat down searches, searches of clothing worn by children or of their bedrooms.

Should carers suspect that a child is carrying or has concealed an item which may place the child or another person at risk, they should try to obtain the item by co-operation/negotiation.

If foster carers suspect that a child is concealing an item which may place themselves or another person at risk, they must notify the Agency or, in an emergency, the Police.

In the event of any serious incident (e.g. accident, violence or assault, damage to property), foster carers should take what actions they deem to be necessary to protect children and themselves from immediate harm or injury; and then notify the Agency immediately.

If there is a risk of serious injury/harm or damage to property, foster carers should not use any form of physical intervention except as a last resort to prevent themselves or others from being injured or to prevent serious damage to property. If any form of physical intervention is used, it must be the least restrictive necessary to protect the child, carer(s) or others. See also: Restrictive Physical Intervention and Restraint Procedure.

Foster carers should not restrain children in a way that impacts on their airway, breathing or circulation, such as face down restraint. Holding a child by the neck carries a risk of suffocation or restricting blood flow to the brain, as well as a risk of spinal injury, and so on no account should neck holds be used as a way of restraining children. Techniques should not be used where they extend, or flex, or put pressure on the child or young person's joints. Additionally smothering a child with for example a duvet also carries a significant risk of suffocation and therefore must not be used.

All staff and foster parents are bound by a duty of care principle and if one can intervene safely to prevent serious injury, then they should do so. In these circumstances then the smallest amount of force required to control the situation should be used.

Should a foster parent or staff member engage in a restrictive intervention of the child the Fostering Social Worker and Child's LA SW must be informed without delay.

At this stage the foster carer or staff member who witnessed the incident should without delay prepare a written incident form. See Incident Form. The Incident form regarding the incident should be reviewed alongside the placement plan and risk assessment. All involved including the child should consider ways to prevent the need for interventions or to reduce the risk of injury. The placement plan and risk assessment should be updated and the training needs of the foster carer reviewed.

However, in respect of any form of Physical Intervention the following must be applied:

• The carer / staff member must believe that injury or damage is likely in the predictable imminent future;
• The carer / staff must believe that the intervention must be immediately necessary;
• The actions or interventions taken must be a last resort;
• Any force or intervention used must be the minimum necessary to achieve the objective.

Recording of incidents must include statements covering the above.

The Agency will endeavour to deal with as many as possible of the challenges that are involved in caring for children without recourse to the involvement of the police, who should only be involved in two circumstances:

• An emergency necessitating their immediate involvement to protect the child or others;
• Following discussion with the Supervising Social Worker, fostering manager, or Community Foster Care Out of Hours.

If any serious incident occurs or the police are called, the Supervising Social Worker, fostering manager or Community Foster Care Out of Hours (if out of office hours) must be notified without delay and will then notify the relevant social worker(s) and arrange for a full report to be made of the incident and actions taken. The Regulatory Authority must also be notified.

To enable reflection and learning and ongoing review of risk and safety measures, it is very important for effective recording of any significant incidents.

This should be completed for any significant incident of concern or elevated risk (Significant incident relating to foster child typically due to human behaviour that causes concern from any person / people). Accurate and timely recording is critical in working together to manage risk and safeguard all.

The details should be captured on Community Foster Cares Incident Form within 24hrs and shared by secure email to the Supervising Social Worker or Service Manager who will ensure the Registered Manager is made aware. An incident of this nature will also trigger a review of the CFC Risk Assessment and this will be undertaken by the CFC SSW or other relevant staff member. The incident form should be recorded on Charms under the progress item 'Incident Form'.

• Incident Form;
• Daily/Weekly/Monthly recording sheets;
• Safe Care form;
• Placement Planning form.