Who’s Who in Foster Care: Understanding Your Child’s Team of Professionals
When a child comes to live with you, they don’t arrive on their own — they come with a whole team of people around them. In the early days especially, it can feel like a lot of new names, job titles and acronyms to keep track of, and it isn’t always obvious who does what, or who you should call when.
This guide explains who’s who in foster care: the key people you’ll work with, what each of them is responsible for, and where you fit into it all. You don’t need to memorise any of it. Think of this as a map you can come back to whenever you’re not sure who to turn to.
You are part of the team
It’s worth saying this first, because it’s easy to forget. As a foster carer, you’re not on the outside of the child’s team looking in — you’re one of the most important people in it. You’re the one who sees the child every day, who notices the small changes, and whose observations often shape the decisions everyone else makes.
Everyone else on this list is there to support the child, and to support you in caring for them. When something feels uncertain, asking questions isn’t a sign you’re struggling; it’s exactly how the team is meant to work.
Your supervising social worker
Your supervising social worker — often shortened to SSW, and sometimes called your fostering social worker or link worker — is your main point of contact and your first port of call for almost anything.
They work for your fostering agency rather than for the child, and their job is to support you. That includes regular supervision visits, helping you prepare before a child arrives, talking through anything difficult, making sure you have the training and information you need, and being a steady presence you can be honest with.
If you’re ever unsure who to contact about something, your supervising social worker is usually the right place to start. Get to know our friendly social workers here.
The child’s social worker
The child’s social worker is responsible for the child themselves. Every child in foster care has one, and they’re a different person from your supervising social worker — though the two work closely together.
The child’s social worker leads on the child’s care plan, makes or arranges key decisions about their life, organises family time, visits the child regularly, and holds the overall picture of what’s happening and what should happen next. Where your supervising social worker is focused on you as a carer, the child’s social worker is focused on the child’s welfare and future.
It’s normal for these two roles to feel similar at first. A simple way to remember it: your social worker supports you; the child’s social worker is responsible for them.
The Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO)
The Independent Reviewing Officer, or IRO, is there to provide independent oversight of the child’s care. “Independent” is the important word — they aren’t part of the day-to-day team making decisions, which means they can take a step back and check that the child’s plan is right and is actually being followed.
The IRO chairs the child’s regular reviews (you may hear these called looked-after child reviews). At these meetings, everyone involved comes together to look at how the child is doing and whether the care plan still fits. The IRO makes sure the child’s voice is heard, that decisions aren’t drifting, and that everyone is doing what they said they would.
You’ll usually see the IRO at reviews, but they can also be contacted between meetings if something important comes up.
The fostering panel and the Agency Decision-maker
The fostering panel and the agency decision-maker (sometimes called the ADM) are part of the approval side of fostering, rather than the day-to-day care of a particular child.
The panel is a group of people independent from the agency with a range of relevant experience who consider assessments — including your own Form F assessment when you were approved — and make recommendations. The agency decision-maker then makes the final call, taking the panel’s recommendation into account. You’ll have already met this part of the system on your way to becoming a carer, and you may come across it again at your annual foster carer review.
If you want to learn more about this process, you can read anything you want to know about fostering at our Advice & Resources hub.
The education team: designated teacher and Virtual School Head
Children in foster care have extra support around their education, and there are two roles worth knowing.
Every school has a designated teacher whose job is to champion the progress of looked-after children in that school. They’re a useful person to build a relationship with, especially around a child’s Personal Education Plan (PEP).
Behind the scenes, each local authority has a Virtual School Head — not a real school, but a service responsible for overseeing the education of all the looked-after children in that area, helping make sure they don’t fall through the gaps when life is unsettled.
The child’s health team
A child’s health is looked after by a wider group too. Alongside the usual GP and dentist, many areas have a looked-after children’s nurse (sometimes called a LAC nurse) who helps coordinate health needs.
Children in care are entitled to regular health assessments, and you’ll often be the one supporting the practical side — getting to appointments, sharing what you’ve noticed, and keeping track of the everyday details that add up to a more complete picture of how a child is doing.
The child’s birth family
The child’s parents, siblings and wider family are part of the picture too, even when a child isn’t living with them. Depending on the care plan, you may have some contact with them, or none at all, and family time is usually arranged and overseen by professionals rather than left to you to manage alone.
It’s a relationship that takes sensitivity, and it’s one you’re supported with rather than left to navigate by yourself. For more info, you can read guide on Helping a Foster Child Maintain Relationships with Their Birth Family
Bringing it all together
That’s a lot of roles, and you won’t be dealing with all of them at once. In everyday life, most of your contact will be with your supervising social worker and the child’s social worker — the others come into focus at particular moments, like reviews, school meetings or health checks.
The most useful thing you can do early on is simply keep a note of who’s who and how to reach them, so that when a question comes up, you’re not starting from scratch. And when in doubt, your supervising social worker can always point you to the right person.
At Foundation Fostering, we provide 24/7 support, and pride ourselves on making you feel part of a family. There is always someone to talk to, whether you are from Worcester, Droitwich or the Wider West Midlands.
FAQs
How often will I actually see everyone on the team?
It varies by role, and these are usually minimums rather than limits. As a rough guide, your supervising social worker will visit regularly, often around monthly. The child’s social worker visits the child on a set schedule — typically within the first week of them arriving, then at least every six weeks, easing to around every twelve weeks once things are more settled. Reviews chaired by the IRO usually happen within the first few weeks, again a few months later, and then at least every six months. Education and health contacts tend to cluster around specific meetings or check-ups rather than following a fixed rhythm.
Will the child have the same social worker the whole time?
Not always. Social workers move roles, and a child may have more than one over time, which can be unsettling for them. If the child’s social worker changes, you should be told, and it’s a good moment to make sure important information about the child is passed on properly rather than lost in the handover.
Will the child be involved in their own reviews?
Wherever possible, yes. Reviews are meant to put the child at the centre, and depending on their age and wishes they might attend part of the meeting, share their views beforehand, or be supported by an advocate so they’re properly heard. Part of your role can be helping the child feel able to say what they really think — including the things that are harder to say — rather than having decisions made over their head.
What happens if I disagree with a decision the team has made?
Start by talking it through with your supervising social worker, who can help you understand the reasoning or raise it on your behalf. If it isn’t resolved, concerns can be taken to the child’s social worker’s manager, the IRO, or through your fostering service’s formal channels. Disagreeing respectfully is part of advocating for a child — it isn’t something to feel awkward about.
Does the team look different if I foster through an agency rather than a council?
The core roles are the same, but the structure can differ slightly. If you foster through an independent fostering agency, your supervising social worker works for the agency, while the child’s social worker and IRO usually work for the local authority responsible for the child. Everyone still works together — the child’s welfare is the shared goal regardless of who employs whom.