Foster Carer Annual Review and Transferring Agencies in Wales: What Approved Carers Need to Know

Getting through the fostering assessment and being approved feels like the finish line. In practice, it is the starting gate. Once you are approved, two ongoing processes shape your career as a foster carer in Wales: the annual review, which happens every year regardless of your experience level, and — for some carers — the option to transfer to a different fostering service.

Both processes are more structured than many carers anticipate, and understanding them before they arrive helps you manage your fostering career more actively.

The Annual Review: More Than a Compliance Tick

Under the Fostering Services Regulations in Wales, every foster carer's approval must be formally reviewed at least once a year. This is not optional, and it is not a formality. The annual review is a substantive process that results in a recommendation to the Agency Decision Maker (ADM) — the same senior officer who signed off on your original approval — about whether your approval should be continued, varied, or terminated.

Most carers maintain their approval year after year without difficulty. But the annual review carries formal weight, and it is worth treating it as such.

What the Annual Review Covers

The review is carried out by your Supervising Social Worker (SSW), who compiles a report drawing on the past year of your practice. It covers:

Placement experience. A review of the placements you have held, how they progressed, and any significant incidents or challenges. If a placement ended abruptly or a child moved on unexpectedly, the circumstances will be examined.

Training and development. Welsh fostering regulations expect carers to maintain a Personal Learning Record and Development Plan (PLR&DP). Most local authorities in Wales require a minimum of 15 hours of learning per year. Your training log — what you completed, when, and how it informed your practice — will be reviewed. If you have not met the learning requirement, this will be noted.

Safer caring compliance. How well you have maintained your safer caring plan, whether there have been any safeguarding concerns, and how any concerns were handled.

Health and household changes. Any changes in your household since your last review: a new partner or adult moving in, changes in your own health, children leaving or joining the household, change of address. All of these require updating with your fostering service and may affect your approval conditions.

Views from children in placement. The reviewing social worker will seek the views of any child currently in your care — or a child recently in your care — about their experience of living with you. In Wales, the Social Services and Well-being Act 2014's "voice and control" principle makes children's views a formal requirement, not an afterthought.

Your own views. The review is a two-way process. You have the opportunity to raise any concerns about support, training, or the placements you have been offered. Carers who are under-supported, burnt out, or placed with children whose needs exceed their current skills should raise this during the review — not after a placement breaks down.

What Happens After the Review

Your SSW produces a written review report. You have the right to read this report and add your own written comments before it is submitted to the ADM. This is an important right — do not waive it passively by not reading the report before signing.

The ADM then considers the recommendation. In the vast majority of cases, the outcome is straightforward continuation of your existing approval. In cases where concerns have been identified, the ADM may vary the terms of your approval (for example, by limiting the age range of children you can care for), impose additional conditions (such as enhanced supervision), or in serious cases, initiate a process that could lead to the ending of your approval.

In Wales, if the ADM is considering a decision that is adverse to you, you have the right to attend a panel hearing and present your case. This is the same review mechanism that applies to initial approval decisions.

First Annual Review: The Three-Year Cycle

For newly approved foster carers, the first review does not happen at 12 months in all cases. Many fostering services in Wales operate a slightly more intensive review schedule in the first year — sometimes conducting a formal six-month review alongside the standard 12-month review — to ensure that newly approved carers are settling into the role well and receiving appropriate support.

After the first annual review, most carers move to a three-yearly Independent Review cycle, with annual supervision checks conducted by the SSW in between. This is a graduated approach: more scrutiny in the early years, lighter-touch as experience develops.

Transferring Between Fostering Services in Wales

Foster Wales has published specific good practice guidance on the transfer of foster carers between services — a recognition that transfers are relatively common and often complex. You might want to transfer for several reasons:

• You registered with an IFA and now want to join your local Foster Wales service
• Your local authority's fostering team has restructured and you want to move elsewhere
• You are relocating to a different part of Wales and your current service cannot support you in a new area

The transfer process is more involved than simply handing in notice to one agency and signing up with another. It requires:

A formal application to the receiving service. The new service treats you as a new applicant. They will review your previous approval documentation, placement history, and any concerns on record.

Enhanced checks. The receiving service is required to conduct new checks — though some checks from your original assessment (such as references) may be accepted if they are recent and were conducted to the required standard.

Assessment of your existing carer profile. The Form F — or a condensed "transfer Form F" — may need to be completed. Welsh good practice guidance acknowledges that a full re-assessment is disproportionate for an experienced carer with a clean record, but some level of assessment is always required.

Any children in placement at the time of transfer. If you are actively caring for a child when you initiate a transfer, the process becomes more complex. The child's social worker and their local authority will be involved. The welfare of the child in placement takes priority, and transfers are not usually approved mid-placement unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Transferring from an IFA to Foster Wales

This specific transfer is increasingly common, driven by the Welsh Government's placement priority policy and the structural shift toward local authority fostering described in the "eliminate profit" agenda.

When transferring from an IFA to Foster Wales, there are practical considerations that carers often underestimate:

Your IFA may have a contractual notice period. Check the terms of your carer agreement carefully. Some agencies require several weeks' notice before your registration can be transferred.

Approval terms may differ. Your IFA may have approved you for different children than your local Foster Wales service would. The receiving LA will conduct its own assessment of what approval to grant.

Financial terms. Allowances, skills fees, and enhancement payments are set by each fostering service independently. Moving to Foster Wales does not automatically replicate the financial package you had with your IFA — the rates may be higher or lower depending on your council.

The "no gap" aim. Welsh good practice guidance emphasises that transfer processes should be managed to avoid a gap in a carer's approval — a period where you are not approved by either service. This is in everyone's interest, particularly if you have children in placement. Both services have a duty to cooperate to avoid this outcome.

Your Development Record Belongs to You

Your Personal Learning Record and Development Plan (PLR&DP) belongs to you, not to your fostering service. Bring your full training record when you transfer. If there are gaps — particularly around mandatory topics such as safeguarding or attachment — the receiving service may require specific training before finalising your transfer approval.

The Wales Fostering Approval Guide covers the annual review process in detail, including what the review report covers, your rights before the ADM decision, and the three-year cycle for experienced carers. It also addresses the transfer process and the key differences between Foster Wales and IFA registration. If you are approaching your first annual review or considering a transfer, the guide provides the framework you need.

See more United Kingdom guides →