The training, support and development (TSD) standards for foster care were developed by CWDC with input from a reference group including practitioners, foster carers, young people, Ofsted, the Fostering Network and BAAF. They were introduced in May 2007 and apply to all approved foster carers in England. The standards provide a national minimum benchmark to set out what all foster carers should know, understand and be able to do within the first 12 months of approval. They form part of a national strategy, supported by the Department for Education, to raise the profile of foster carers as valued professionals and to improve and standardise service provision for looked after children.
