Team Parenting® l FCA Scotland

Putting children first

We’re committed to involving everyone and, at FCA Scotland we’ve adopted a unique approach which helps deliver this in practice. It’s called Team Parenting® a network of childcare experts who may work with each child or young person to look after every single area of their well-being. Depending on the child’s needs, this may include therapists, education leads, social workers and a participation service that actively engages children. The child’s birth parents may also be involved.

Over the years, our Team Parenting approach really has helped to attain outstanding results for children and young people in terms of their emotional recovery, enabling their lives to be transformed well into adulthood.

What is Team Parenting?

Team parenting is FCA Scotland’s commitment to a therapeutic way of thinking about traumatised children and their emotional needs. Children and young people with history of trauma, abuse or neglect and/or attachment difficulties often require therapeutic input to promote and develop their psychological wellbeing and development.

We are committed to this holistic approach to fostering where everyone involved shares what they know and works together regularly to help our children or young people so we can create a cohesive and full picture of their needs.

All foster carers are supported by FCA Scotland social workers and a range of other professionals which may include therapists, support workers and educational staff who are accessible for involvement when needed.

Meet Senior Supervising Social Worker, Anne, who talks about FCA Scotland’s Team Parenting approach

“This child-centric, wrap-around model provides holistic support to our foster carers to ensure the best outcomes for children and young people.”

The Components of Team Parenting

FCA Scotland Team Parenting comprises of two key elements – an ethos and a menu of specific therapeutic interventions which are applied as appropriate depending on the level of the young person’s need. The ethos is engendered across FCA Scotland for all placements. This is aimed at establishing safety and stability for the young person allowing for a positive and attached relationship with their carers.

Specific therapeutic interventions could include:

Joint therapy sessions

A safe and creative space for carers and children/young people to explore and express difficult thoughts, feelings and behaviours which they may be experiencing.

Consultations

Delivered to foster carers, social workers and other members of staff.

Training

To foster carers and staff on understanding and managing challenging behaviours, attachment difficulties, child development, abuse, trauma, self-esteem and relationships. Additional services such as individual psychotherapy, specialist assessments, post adoption work and early intervention work can also be requested. Achieving recovery and resilience for some young people however is a complex therapeutic task which can extend over years. In these more complex/specialist circumstances, further therapeutic interventions may be provided, where there has been an agreement in conjunction with the placing local authority.

The underlying principles of Team Parenting

Wrapping services around the carer and child in placement.

Strengths and relationship based.

Every interaction with the child has the potential to be therapeutic.

Focused on creating safe, consistent, secure caring environment.

Planning and goal setting.

Coordination and cohesion of services.

Underpinned by Standards of Practice.

Even more support

Support for young people

Our service is focussed on the needs of the children we look after, so we’ve built up a strong framework of support around them.

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