What is TSDS?

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• Author:Dominique Dunning
• Published:2021
• Country:

The Training, Support & Development (TSD) Standards

The Training, Support & Development (TSD)Standards are a set of standards that carers are expected to understand and evidence through the completion of a workbook.

Caring is a challenging role and foster carers are pivotal in providing support and security for vulnerable children, enabling a successful transition into independent adult life.

TSDS is an induction to the challenging role of caring which requires skills and experience evidenced through a national minimum benchmark (NMS) which sets out the expectations of what a foster carer should know, understand and be able to demonstrate within 12-18 months of approval. These standards were introduced in 2007 and apply to all foster carers in England. This formed part of a national strategy to raise the profile of foster carers as “valued professionals and to improve and standardise service provision for looked after children”.

It is an expectation that your fostering provider engages with carers and support them to achieve TSD Standards.
It is expected that carers will understand the requirements of the TSD Standards and completion of the TSD Standards is now a requirement of the National Minimum Standards (Fostering) and is referenced within the National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services 2011. Further information about the TSD Standards for Foster Care can be accessed here.

There are 7 TSD standards:

• Standard 1: Understand the principles and values essential for fostering children and young people.
• Standard 2: Understand your role as a foster carer.
• Standard 3: Understand health and safety, and healthy care.
• Standard 4: Know how to communicate effectively.
• Standard 5: Understand the development of children and young people.
• Standard 6: Keep children and young people safe from harm.
• Standard 7: Develop yourself Foster carers must evidence that they have met all these standards, where these apply to the child(ren) they are caring for. In each of the seven standards, there are a number of topics that you will need to know about.

What should you expect from your foster care provider?

• A duty to arrange for you to learn about the different areas within the standards and to make sure that you know enough to meet the outcomes for each area.
• To provide you with learning opportunities and support through your supervising social worker and training officer.
• Before you are approved, your foster care provider should arrange for you to attend preparation training (the Skills to Foster course or similar). Practice varies but will usually take place before or during your fostering assessment.
• Within six weeks of your approval, your supervising social worker should induct you into the fostering service you work for and help you draw up a Personal Development Plan identifying learning activities to help you complete the Training, Support and Development Standards.
• Advise you on what ‘core’ training courses and/or learning support are available.
• Tell you about opportunities to participate in training with other colleagues working with children (e.g. multi-agency child protection training)
• Provide and share details of support groups for foster carers.
• Foster care providers have been asked to provide financial support to enable foster carers to attend training sessions.
• Your foster care provider is responsible for providing an assessor who will usually be your supervising social worker but could be a training officer or work-based learning assessor.