Resignation – a foster carers guide
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- Author:FosterWiki
- Published:June 2023
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Country:
Resignation
A foster carers guide to tendering resignation, how, when and templates.
Introduction to tendering your resignation
Your resignation will be personal to you, however in our experience whatever your reasons for resigning it is important to get it right.
Different reasons you may want to resign:
- Retirement.
- Changing careers/leaving fostering.
- Ill health.
- Unhappy with your provider or fostering.
- Transferring to another agency.
- Burn out.
- Can’t afford it.
- Allegations.
Before you tendering your resignation
There are many reasons foster carer’s resign, however make sure before you do you have explored all the options, as loosing a foster carer, even one, has a negative impact on fostering.
If you are retiring naturally or through ill health then that’s a natural resignation and we wish you the best of luck in the future.
If you are resigning due to discontent have you tried to reach out to your fostering service to work together to resolve the issues? If you are a FosterWiki Member you can email our advice line on [email protected]
If you are resigning due to being unhappy with your fostering services of feel undervalued or unsupported and have explored all the avenues or the relationship has irreversibly broken down?
If so then why not considered transferring to another provider rather than leaving fostering?
If this could be an option contact us at [email protected] or visit https://fosterwiki.com/transferring-with-fosterwiki/
Retirement, ill health, no longer able to foster
If you have no children in placement and are leaving fostering, and have no current allegation against you then resignation is pretty straight forward.
You will still be de-registered from the fostering service by panel, but it will be a straight forward tick box exercise.
Resigning because you are transferring to another provider
If you have children in placement then you need to follow the protocol to the letter as you can neither work for 2 fostering services at once, nor can you not be an approved foster carer if you have foster children currently living with you and transferring with you, therefore it all needs to be done on the same day. You will be assisted by your new fostering agency.
You will have already put in your ‘Intention to transfer’ letter (also see the FosterWiki guide and templates in the FosterWiki Member’s Area .
This is from the FosterWiki page on transferring;
“Once the fostering panel of the fostering service you are transferring to has made its recommendation and the service indicates that it is ready to approve you as a foster carer, you should submit your resignation to the current fostering service.
The new agency decision maker (ADM) may state that they will approve you on a specific date in the future, which could be planned to coincide with the termination of your existing approval at the expiry of the 28-day notice period.
However, the two agencies, fostering panel and the decision-maker must achieve the desired outcome in the right timescales, their overriding objective must be to promote the welfare of the children in placement.
A timetable for the approval of the foster carer/s by the recruiting service should be in place and the expectation is that it should take no more than two to four months.
When these timescales cannot reasonably be adhered to all parties will be kept informed about developments and the anticipated time to completion.”
If you have no children currently and are transferring
This is not as critical and you can resign at any time, although you again, must not be registered with two fostering services at once.
FosterWiki pages on transferring;
- https://fosterwiki.com/wiki/so-you-want-to-transfer-providers/
- https://fosterwiki.com/wiki/top-10-tips-for-transferring-provider/
If you want to transfer to another agency but have no children in placement then you can simply resign and sign up with your new chosen agency. Here is help in transferring fostering services: https://fosterwiki.com/transferring-with-fosterwiki/
Whatever you do, do not resign whilst you have children in placement, or you will have children in placement without being a registered foster carer.
Resigning due to being unhappy with your provider
If you are resigning because you feel you have been treated badly, poorly supported or angry over an other issue, it is still best to keep the resignation short and professional, although you might want to carefully state the reasons for your resignation. As hard as it can be, avoid knee jerk reactions/responses or very long angry emails that will most likely not be read.
Make sure if resigning you see panel papers before they go to panel, you might want to foster again and we have had occasional situations where fostering services personnel have used it as an excuse to blame the carer when they know carers are resigning through discontent.
If there is no allegation involved all that needs to go to panel is your resignation and your reasons for resigning, it should be a ‘tick box’ exercise, certainly not an opportunity for anyone else to ‘have their say’.
Resignation due to an Allegation
Some carers resign during an allegation, but it’s very important to note that this does not make the allegation go away and it means you or your union can not defend you and you will be deregistered for any reason they wish and they may present your resignation as some kind of admission of guilt.
It will negatively impact on the de-registration and maybe even your DBS and ability to foster again.
Resigning with a child in placement
Whatever reason you have for resigning if you have children or young people in placement this makes it more complex. The placement may have irrevocably broken down, you may have been trying to get more support or have asked for a child to be moved to a setting that is better placed to meet their needs. We know very few foster carers resign with children in placement and if they do it’s because they have no option left to them.
Here is the FosterWiki guide to ending a placement: https://fosterwiki.com/wiki/so_you_want-to_end_a_foster_placement/
Exit Interview
Exit Interviews should be always be offered, all good fostering providers should use it as an opportunity to reflect and learn from your resignation as retention of foster carers is key.
If you are not offered an Exit Interview but would like to have one request one in writing, your request should not be denied.
Time Scales
If you are resigning without children in placement then you can either give 28 days notice, however you are also at liberty to resign ‘with immediate effect’. If you have children in placement then you must give 28 days notice.
If you are transferring follow the transfer protocol, if you have children in placement your resignation and switch to new agency must happen on the same day, as you can not foster for more than one agency at once, neither can you foster children without being a current approved and registered foster carer.
If you are transferring to a new agency and have no children in placement you can resign when you like.
Templates
These templates are just intended as a guide, you can personalise them and add things, each one will be according to your unique set of circumstances.
Resignation template, for retiring, no children in placement
Dear xxx
We are writing to tender our resignation from XXX.
We await your confirmation that you accepted our resignation and deregistered us from your service.
We would like to thank you for supporting us through many happy years of fostering.
Resignation template when things have not gone well
Dear xxx
It is with great sadness that we tender our resignation, effective from today’s date.
After X years of fostering we feel we are unable to continue to foster with XXX due to…
*You can insert a calm and professional description of the reason. It may be ‘our values no longer align’ ‘we are unable to continue due to practices we can not agree with’ ‘we have not been supported in a way that enables us to effectively foster’ ‘we feel the support for the children we foster has been inadequate.
You may want to add;
We request an exit interview so we can discuss the reasons for our resignation as an opportunity for *LA/IFA* to reflect on the issues and learn going forward.
Resignation if you are transferring to anther agency and have children in placement
Resigning to move to another agency is a very done at a very specific time, you initially let your fostering provider know you are leaving them with an ‘intention to transfer’ email/letter you do
not tender your resignation a this point.
See the above section on transferring and links to the FosterWiki pages and top tips.
If you have no children currently and are transferring This is not as critical and you can resign at any time, although you again, must not be registered with two fostering services at once, so you have to resign with one agency before becoming an approved foster carer with another.
To have support in allegations, standards or care complaints and other issues you need to already be a member. It works just like car insurance or other trade unions in that respect, so to have union protection it is better to join as soon as possible.
Information, Help and Support
Help and support created for foster carers, by foster carers, we are the experts by experience. We have the first foster carers knowledge bank.
Please find our help and support page here.
Access both the open pages and members area. Both are free to access and footprint-free. The member’s area gives you privileged confidential access to FosterWiki’s experts by experience for advice and guidance. You will also find short courses and guides from the foster carer’s perspective, top tips, allegation help, templates, and the ability to add to FosterWiki. With more content being uploaded regularly.
Please let us know what information or advice pages you would find useful and we will put them in place. https://fosterwiki.com/register/
