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Contents

1. Membership 
2. Meetings 
3. Purpose and Function  

1. Membership

The Fostering Panel has a maximum of 10 members. The membership must include two social workers, one of whom has child care expertise and the other with experience in the fostering service, at least one elected member of the Council and at least four independent members one of whom is or has been within the two previous years an approved foster carer for a different fostering agency. 

The Chair will be one of the independent members, appointed by the Designated Manager (Fostering Panel - Appointment of Chair and Deputy Chair).

The Designated Manager must also appoint a Deputy Chair, whose role is to chair the Panel when the Chair is unavailable.

All Panel members must have been the subjects of a satisfactory Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks before taking up their appointment. Personal and work references will also be obtained in writing and must be satisfactory. 

Each member will be asked to meet the Independent Chair and the Panel Adviser and sign an agreement with the Fostering Service, in relation to his or her membership, covering the service expectations (including the requirement to report any involvement in criminal proceedings), confidentiality issues and commitment to anti-discriminatory practice.

All Panel members will also be required to attend at least one Panel meeting as an observer before taking up their membership and to attend an annual training day.

The quorum is 5, one of whom must be the Chair or Deputy Chair, one of the social worker representatives and at least 2 other independent members. There must always be male and female members present.

Panel members must attend training sessions which are held at least annually. The chair and the Panel Adviser will conduct an annual appraisal of each panel member.

Members hold office for terms of three years, must attend at least 75% of meetings and may not continue in office for more than two consecutive terms.

Where there are concerns about a Panel member's behaviour either inside or outside the meetings, this will raised by the Chair with the Designated Manager (Fostering Panel - Appointment of Chair and Deputy Chair). The Designated Manager will decide whether to end the appointment and if so, will advise the member in writing giving clear reasons for the decision.

2. Meetings

The Fostering Panel meets on the second Thursday of each month. The Panel Administrator, with the Chair's authority, will arrange additional special meetings as necessary.

The Panel Administrator must arrange for the Medical Adviser and/or legal adviser to attend the Panel if required by the Chair or by the worker presenting a report. 

All Panel meetings will be attended by a Professional Adviser, who will advise the Panel on regulations, policy and procedures, and take feedback about practice issues to social workers and their managers.

The Panel Administrator may also arrange for observers to attend meetings, in consultation with the Chair, but no more than 2 observers may attend at any one time.

The Panel Administrator in consultation with the Chair prepares the agenda for each meeting and sends out the agenda to Panel members ten days before the meeting.

Social Workers presenting reports to the Panel must send a their report to the Panel Administrator on or before the date of the fostering panel that precedes the meeting that they are due to attend. The Panel Administrator will arrange for the documentation to be distributed to Panel members at least ten days before the meeting.

Panel members must declare where they know a person under consideration in a personal or professional capacity, in which case they should not participate in consideration of the relevant agenda item.

The Chair's role is to ensure that all members participate fully in the meetings (unless an interest has been declared), that sensitive regard is paid to foster carers while keeping the child's welfare paramount, that consensus is achieved wherever possible and that the Panel has clear reasons for its recommendations.

At the end of meetings, the Panel Administrator will collect all reports and agenda from members.

The Panel Administrator will prepare the minutes in which reasons for recommendations and any disagreements or dissent will be fully recorded.

S/he will send the minutes to the Chair for approval of their accuracy, and then submit them to the Designated Manager (Foster Carer Approval and Review) or other relevant Designated Manager for approval of the recommendations made. 

The Panel Administrator will also ensure that applicants, foster carers and social workers are notified in writing of Panel recommendations within one working day and provide social workers with a copy of the relevant minutes.

3. Purpose and Function

The Fostering Panel monitors the range and type of foster carers available to the local authority in comparison with the needs of children, and plays a key role in the improvement of standards within the Fostering Service. 

As part of this function, the Panel oversees the conduct of assessments, advises on any relevant matters in relation to the Fostering Service and makes

recommendations to Children and Families Service about quality issues and performance standards.

In particular, the Panel makes recommendations as to the following:

1. Approvals of foster carers and their category (including exemptions from the limit to the number of children placed)
2. First  Review of foster carers, and  any other Review where significant changes or termination of approval is recommended
3. Any other special matters relevant to a foster carer which the Chair of the Panel considers appropriate to be referred
4. Whether long-term fostering is in the interests of a child over 11
5. Whether particular foster carers are suitable long term carers for a child over 11

The Panel will also receive reports at each meeting on the number of Exemptions and variations from the usual Fostering Limits granted by the Designated Manager (Foster Placement - Exemption to Exceed Usual Limit). See Limit on the Number of Children in Foster Homes Procedure.

The Panel will receive annually the Manager of the Fostering Service's report on the Panel's business, including statistical information about approvals, reviews, termination of approvals, the number of children in placement and complaints received about foster carers during the preceding year.

The Chair will communicate any issues of concern to the Independent Chair and the Panel Adviser and take part in biannual meetings with the Designated Manager and Professional Adviser to review the Panel's functioning. 

At these  meetings, the Panel Administrator will provide statistical information in relation to the Panel business, together with information on the numbers of foster carers used by Luton and the number of children who are a Child in Care in Luton. 

This will enable an appraisal of the extent to which the Fostering Service is meeting the demand for placements.

End