Foster care: Courses for carers

As a foster carer in Portsmouth, Lorraine Collins has looked afterchildren with a range of emotional and behavioural problems, fromteenage girls with drug and alcohol addictions to primary school-agedchildren with severe attachment problems. Although she has two childrenof her own, she freely admits she wasn't prepared to deal with some ofthe issues she faced. "Sometimes, you're totally bewildered by theirbehaviour," she says. "It can seem personal, and you're caught updealing with the behaviour rather than moving on from it."

The value of training

In fact, without training, Collins might not have been able to care forsome of the children she has looked after over the last 12 years."Training is so important because it lets you take a step back from thebehaviour and see what might be behind it," she believes. "So I havealways attended any training I've been offered, and all of it has beenuseful." In the last year alone, for instance, Collins has completed 10courses, covering topics ranging from self-harm to restorative justice'sexual health and attachment.