Transcript for the video on Transfer to Kent Fostering.
[The video starts with Amanda Rowbottom speaking to camera. Graphic on screen says: Amanda Rowbottom – Parent and Child Foster Carer.]
Amanda: My name is Amanda Rowbottom. Well, I was a foster carer for ten years, and then we had a break because we had quite a challenging child.
[Graphic on screen says: Why did you choose to move to Kent Fostering?]
Narrator: Why did you choose to move to Kent Fostering?
Amanda: When we decided to come back to fostering in 2024, we came back to Kent County Council because there were more areas that we could go into. So there was more sort of - we could do respite, or we could do permanency fostering, or bridging. It just gave us a lot better.
[Graphic on screen says: What was the transfer process like?]
Narrator: What was the transfer process like?
Amanda: The transfer process for us was different because we'd had the break of four years in between. When we did come back, it was really, really quite easy and plain sailing to come through. We still had to have our Form F done, and we still had to do the Skills to Foster, but I believe that was because we did have the break. It wasn't a straightforward transfer from one to the other. So, yeah, but it was very, very smooth.
After we'd done our Skills to Foster, we'd obviously done our Form F, and we went to panel. Once we passed panel, we had our own supporting social worker, but we also had the new carers' support.
[Graphic on screen says: What was the support from Kent Fostering like?]
Narrator: What was the support from Kent Fostering like?
Amanda: So the support during the transfer was really good. We had lots of visits from social workers and the lady that was doing our Form F with us. And then once we passed panel, we had our supporting social worker, who visited on a regular basis and kept in contact with us.
And then we also had another lady in the team, and she was fantastic. She was also a new carer support worker as well, so she would check in with us and also come out and see us.
And I also like the fact that when you're new to Kent, you have a new carers' support group as well. So you're all there and you can sort of check in with each other and get in contact with other new carers that might be going through the same thing as you.
So the training process was really good. There was initial training that we had to do, even when you're doing your Skills to Foster, which has to be done. Once that's done and you move off and you've passed panel, there is a list over the four years of the training set out, which I think is brilliant.
I can pick and choose when I book onto those training sessions. I don't get told I've got to do it on this day, which I really love. And also, apart from the training that has to be set out and done, there's a lot more training that you can go in and pick up, and you might think, “Oh, that's really interesting.” So I can actually book myself onto the training sessions rather than having to ask somebody if I can be put on that. It just seems a little bit more fluid, and I just feel like I'm responsible for my own training, which I find works for me.
[Graphic on screen says: What is your experience like now?]
Narrator: What is your experience like now?
Amanda: Yeah, so my experience now, with regards to Kent rather than the IFA, I do feel like I'm treated as a little bit more professional. I'm left to sort my own training out, which I absolutely love. And also, I feel like we're just trusted a little bit more with the children.
[Graphic on screen says: What advice would you give to someone who is considering transferring?]
Narrator: What advice would you give to someone who is considering transferring?
Amanda: I think if you were considering either transferring or coming to Kent, I think it's the flexibility that you get with being a Kent carer, and the professionalism - that you are actually respected for being a professional person within Kent with regards to being a foster carer. And I think that's really, really nice.
[The video ends with a graphic showing the Kent Fostering and Kent County Council logos. Graphic on screen says: 03000 420 002 and kentfostering.co.uk.]