Having a good relationship with your carers and workers
Your carers and workers are all there to help and support you as you grow up. They have specific responsibilities to make sure that you are getting the most out of life.
Feeling like you can trust them and rely on them for help when you need it is really important.
But, this isn’t always easy. You might be thinking things like, “What if they also let me down?” “What if I just get to trust them, and then they leave?”
Your carers and workers will understand these kinds of thoughts and know that it is their responsibility to build trust with you. They will be patient in getting to know you so they can support you in the best possible way.
We will try and make sure you can keep your workers and carers for as long as possible if it is working well for you. But sometimes your workers and carers may change.
When this happens, we will always try and let you know as early as possible so we can talk to you about any changes. This is something you can talk about with your carers and workers, as we know that ‘endings’ can sometimes be tough and feel personal (even when they are not).
Extra help and support
To have the best possible relationships with your carers and workers, you need to feel you can trust them and be honest with them. If you have given it some time, but you still don’t think this is possible, you need to be able to discuss why you think it isn’t working and you can request a change in worker or foster home. If you find it hard to talk about this kind of thing, you can use Mind of My Own one app, which is a really easy way to express your views to your workers without having to say them to their face.
You can also check out The Promise, which was written with young people in care and is a list of commitments all foster carers and workers should be following for you. If they follow these, we think you will be more likely to have a good relationship with them.
