What happens at...?

Matching meetings are Mosaic meetings attended by the foster carer, their supervising social worker, a Mosaic safeguarding officer and a member of the therapy service.  The purpose of the meeting is to consider referral information about a child that you have expressed an interest in, whether everyone feels that the child is well matched to your family and what other information we may need in order to reach that decision.  If everyone agrees that the child is well matched to your family, then a referral meeting will be arranged with the child’s social worker.

A referral meeting occurs when a child’s local authority social worker comes (CSW) to visit you and your supervising social worker (SSW) in your home.   The CSW will want to learn more about you, your family, your home environment and local community.  They will also ask you questions pertaining to the needs of the child.  This is why it is helpful to have your SSW with you to assist with any questions. This is a good opportunity to follow up on any questions from the matching meeting.

Placement agreement meetings occur after a child has been placed with you and should be held within 7 days of your foster child’s arrival.  These meetings will usually take place in your home and will involve the child’s social worker, you and your supervising social worker and if appropriate, the child themselves.  These meetings ensure that everyone understands the day to day plan for the child in relation to such things as schooling, health matters, family contact and daily routines.

Safeguarding reviews are Mosaic meetings that include you and other professionals involved in the care, planning and safeguarding of your foster child.  This will include social workers, health professionals and teachers.  These reviews consider the different areas of a child’s life, any associated risks and plans to keep children safe and enable them to also feel safe.  These quarterly meetings are an important part of safeguarding children and foster families.  Child safety is a prerequisite for trauma recovery.

Child looked after reviews are statutory meetings held by the local authority who placed your foster child with you.  These meetings are Chaired by an Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) and attended by you and other professionals to consider how your foster child is developing and progressing across all aspects of their lives. These meetings serve to review the child’s Care Plan to ensure that it is up to date and relevant.  These meetings occur approximately every 6 months.

Your Mosaic therapist will meet with you on a monthly basis to provide clinical supervision and support.  These sessions provide a reflective space to consider with your therapist your foster child’s behaviour and emotions, and how these impact on your parent-child relationship.

These sessions are between you and your allocated social worker.  They occur monthly and are used as a space to discuss child related and agency matters.  They tend to be more task focused than reflective (like your clinical supervision) with your social worker providing you with practical guidance as well as emotional support.

There will likely be a range of medical appointments for you to attend in respect of your foster child.  These may include both physical and mental health related issues.  You will also need to register your foster child with local services including doctor, dentist and optician.  Your foster child may also have an annual medical and may have specialist appointments depending on need.

Every child looked after in care will have a personal education plan that sets out educational targets in relation to their age, level of ability, and development.  These plans are reviewed three times per year.   These review meetings are chaired by the Designated Teacher for Children Looked After for the child’s school, the child’s social worker, the carers and the child.  At Mosaic, we also request that your supervising social worker be allowed to attend in order to support you.