Five Rivers’ Tiered Support for Fostering: Clinical and Therapeutic Care Tailored to Need
Friday 29 May 2026
Last updated: Thursday 28 May 2026
A child’s journey through the care system isn’t linear, and it’s likely they will encounter systemic triggers or stressors that require additional support. This is an unfortunate reality of living within the care system, which can leave children feeling unstable with the constant changes in home environments and carers.
This is why every Foster Carer and child placed with Five Rivers benefit from trauma-informed care and steady support. This helps them feel safe, build trust, and grow emotional wellbeing throughout their journey. In addition to this, every member of our fostering team, including our Supervising Social Workers, Fostering Support Workers and managers have access to training in Attachment and Trauma Informed Care (ATIC™) because we are committed to creating a culture that not only offers a safe home for children, but genuinely support recovery from trauma.
To ensure that all of our foster children and carers receive the highest standard of support, we have restructured our clinical offering within Fostering to a tiered model so we can match the support to need. This approach allows us to offer support that best meets the individual needs of each child and carer, strengthen consistency across the service, and make sure enhanced clinical provision is provided at the time when it is needed most.
We understand that every child is unique and may require different levels of support, and this tired model allows us to respond with compassion and consistency. Every fostering family receives a strong foundation of support from our core service, and for those who need a little extra help, we provide additional time and resources. Our priority is to be there for the children and carers who need us most. This approach helps us maintain stability and gives each child the best possible chance to flourish in a nurturing home.
Our commitment to children in our care, and to our Foster Carers, is at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to providing a service that goes beyond the minimum expectations, and as part of this we offer access to Clinical Support as standard for all children placed with us.
Tier One: Our Core Provision
Our Core Provision offers our children and carers access to a qualified Clinical Practitioner who is supported by an Assistant Psychological Practitioner. They provide training, consultation, assessment and support rooted in Attachment and Trauma Informed Care (ATIC™); Foster Carers will also receive extensive training and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to support the professional development of carers as trauma informed practitioners.
Our Clinical Practitioners will work closely with Fostering Managers to review cases; this added support helps create stability and reassurance for children and foster families, and our Social Enterprise Fund will continue to cover this provision.
Tier Two: Our Enhanced Provision
Our Enhanced Provision was created to offer intervention for families and children facing complex needs for a fixed period of time. It provides care for both the child and their Foster Carer, making sure everyone feels supported, connected, and working towards the same shared goals. Everyone feels supported and understood. This helps them keep a warm, nurturing home.
Our Enhanced Provision includes everything within our Core Provision, along with weekly check‑ins to review the child’s progress and understand their individual needs. We use both indirect and direct assessments, like tools and conversations, and play or online sessions in order to learn more about the child. We then bring the team together to create a clear therapeutic plan for the child.
We hold regular, clinically led meetings. We offer one-on-one and group support for Foster Carers, and we stay closely connected with those caring for the child each day.
As a Social Enterprise, our mission has always been to invest in people, projects, research and training; creating an impact that is both evidence based and accessible.
Our new tiered approach to fostering was piloted over three years and made possible through our Social Enterprise funding. During that period, we were able to rigorously test, refine, and demonstrate the effectiveness of our model in real world settings. What we learned from that piolet directly informed the development of our new tiered provision, enabling us to be more responsive, adaptable and better equipped to meet the needs of our foster children and Foster Carers. We are committed to harnessing what is known about the healing capacity of relationships and ever evolving research on attachment trauma, so that they can have the best possible outcome.
Give us a Call to Find Out More
We understand that making the decision to become a Foster Carer is a big commitment. Register your interest with our carer enquiries team for a no obligation chat to find out whether fostering could be right for you.