If someone asked how you promote health, you would probably think about ensuring a child’s physical and perhaps mental health is a good place to start. I am sure there would be thoughts around ensuring a child is registered with the GP, dentist and optician and attends routine appointments. For babies, ensuring they are seen by the health visitor to be weighed and for weaning/developmental advice. 

With mental health, there would probably be thoughts around checking in on people’s wellbeing and referrals to CAMHS. However, there is so much more to promoting health.

Promoting Health is a key part of a foster carer’s responsibility. Let’s look at how you can meet the outcomes:

• Promoting physical development as well as any referrals to specialists. It is also important to support sexual health and to be able to have open conversations about relationships.  
• Promoting emotional health and advocating for psychological or therapeutic support. There are multiple types of support – art, equine, other animal based, play and music as well as numerous types of talking therapies. 
• Emotional health can also be promoted by simply being with a child. Building attachment through a joint activity such as crafts, dancing, nail art, playing a card/board game, etc.
• Promoting social development by ensuring that a child attends activities.  For babies/toddlers attending toddler groups, rhythm and rhyme sessions/messy play. For older children identifying their interests and enrolling them in relevant sporting activities, dance, drama, uniformed groups/youth clubs.
• Children should be involved in taking responsibility for their health in an age appropriate way. This can include showing them their health passport.  As they get older supporting them to take responsibility for managing their own appointments. For younger children, you can support children preparing them for appointments. For children with complex additional needs, there may be specialist health services available to support. 
• The health passport is a key part of the placement story. Your SSW can ask to view this as part of supervision and it is handy at Child Looked After Reviews when you will be asked for details of health appointments and outcomes. 
• It is important that screening appointments take place early on when a child arrives in your care. Foster carers should be provided with a delegated authority tool, setting out decisions you can make or in consultation with the LA Social Worker. 
• As a foster carer it is important that medication is administered in accordance with the advice given by a medical practitioner.  It must be recorded if a child refuses medication. Any first aid delivered or attendances at walk in centres A&E and medical appointments must also be recorded in weekly recordings. It is important not to be scared or delivering first aid if an emergency situation occurs whilst waiting for an ambulance.
• All approved foster carers must have valid First Aid and Health and Hygiene training – this has to be renewed every 3 years.  The health and safety check is also carried out annually.  Your SSW will give a timeline to complete health and safety recommendations.  It is important that this is achieved because if a child were to have an accident, the foster carer is accountable. 
• We will always look at training relevant to the children currently in care when they are matched. We need to ensure that foster carers have the skills to meet their needs.
• Always remember, meeting health needs is part of the child’s care plan and all parties are accountable to ensure it is adhered to. 

Promoting a Healthy Caring Environment:

If we are to support physical, emotional and sexual health and to provide a secure and safe environment for children and young people to form healthy attachments and care for the whole child, we need to offer:

• Warmth, nurture and consistency
• A secure base where a child does not feel judged
• Open communication and active listening
• Calmness and knowing the right time for difficult conversations
• An ability to pick up on non-verbal cues
• Both practical and emotional availability and where some one-to-one focused time can be given
• An environment where a child can admit they have made a mistake and learn from it
• A caregiver who is not going to give up at the first challenge
• Interest in the child and supporting and promoting their interests and can offer new opportunities
• A household where the child’s voice is heard and considered in decision making
• An ability to have difficult conversations in a sensitive way
• A good knowledge of current societal risks and the signs and indicators
• A home where safeguarding the child and all household members is central to everything.