If you’re new to fostering (or thinking about applying), one of the first practical questions you’ll have is: how often will social workers come to the house—and why? The short answer is that there are two different kinds of visits with different purposes and timetables. Your child’s social worker (CSW) visits to check on the child’s welfare and progress against their care plan. Your supervising social worker (SSW) from your fostering service visits to support and supervise you in the fostering role. Below is a clear, UK-focused guide to who visits, how often, what happens during each visit, when extra visits are triggered, and how this can vary slightly by local area and agency.
Two social workers, two roles
Child’s Social Worker (CSW): Allocated by the local authority responsible for the child. Their focus is the child’s needs, safety, voice, contact with family, school, health, and whether the placement is meeting the care plan.
Supervising Social Worker (SSW): Allocated by your fostering service (local authority fostering team or independent fostering agency). Their focus is you as a foster carer—support, training, safe-caring, recording, policies, and making sure you have what you need to provide excellent day-to-day care.
Both roles overlap in practice (you’ll often discuss similar themes), but their legal duties and visit schedules are different. That’s why you’ll see them at different intervals.
How often the child’s social worker must visit (the statutory timetable)
In England, the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review framework sets minimum visiting intervals for children who are looked after. The key milestones most carers remember are:
- Within 1 week of a child moving into placement, the CSW must visit.
- Every 6 weeks (maximum) during the first year of any placement.
- At least every 3 months (maximum interval) after the first year.
These are statutory minimums—more frequent visits can and do happen if needed.
There’s one important exception in designated long-term foster placements: after the first year, visits can be extended to every 6 months if the placement is stable and the child is old enough and agrees—this is intended to reduce intrusion where things are settled. Your CSW will confirm if that applies to you.
Also note: the CSW must add visits outside the minimum schedule when reasonably requested by the child or carer, or when circumstances change (e.g., a significant incident, school disruption, health concerns). If in doubt, ask for an extra visit—this is your right and often the quickest way to unlock support.
How often your supervising social worker will visit (agency standards)
For SSW visits, the law takes a different approach. The National Minimum Standards (NMS) require that each approved foster carer has regular supervision by a named SSW and that there is at least one unannounced visit per year. NMS does not fix a single national frequency for routine supervision, so fostering services set their own policies. In real life that means:
- Many services schedule monthly supervisions as standard.
- Some specify six-weekly as a minimum, with extra contact by phone/email.
- New carers or complex placements often get more frequent face-to-face support.
What never changes is the minimum unannounced visit once a year.
To show how this plays out locally, here are examples from current public policies:
- Monthly supervisions as standard (e.g., Barnsley; Nottinghamshire).
- Bi-monthly formal supervisions plus interim contact in the off-months (e.g., Derby).
- Every six weeks as a usual minimum (e.g., Stockton).
These examples illustrate the range; your own agency’s handbook will confirm your exact schedule.
Unannounced visits: what they are and why they happen
Every fostering household must receive at least one unannounced visit a year from the SSW. The visit is a simple, respectful spot-check on the everyday living environment and who is present in the home at a normal, unplanned time. Many services go beyond the minimum and schedule two per year; more may be carried out if there are safeguarding concerns or a live allegation. Expect your SSW to look around shared spaces and, where appropriate, speak briefly to household members.
Who attends visits—and will the child be seen alone?
Child’s social worker visits are centred on the child’s experience. The CSW will see and speak to the child alone (privately) unless the child is too young, declines, or it would be inappropriate given their age and understanding. This protects the child’s voice and helps the CSW understand what life is like in the home, at school, and during contact with family.
Supervising social worker visits usually involve the main foster carer(s). The SSW may also speak with the child (especially during annual reviews) to triangulate support needs, but the child’s private time is normally with their own CSW.
Reviews you’ll see in the calendar (why visits cluster around them)
Alongside regular visits are the statutory Looked After Reviews chaired by the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO). Timing is fixed:
- First review: within 20 working days of a child coming into care.
- Second review: within 3 months of the first.
- Subsequent reviews: at least every 6 months thereafter.
Visits and planning meetings often cluster around these reviews because reports, education updates (PEP), and care-plan decisions are due.
What happens during a CSW visit?
While every CSW has their style, most visits cover the following themes:
1) Day-to-day life and feelings. The CSW will ask the child about school, friends, sleep, routines, hobbies, and anything that’s worrying them. They’ll check how contact with birth family is going and whether frequency or arrangements need adjusting.
2) Safety and wellbeing. Expect gentle questions about online safety, boundaries, curfews, and any incidents since the last visit (missing episodes, restraints, police contact). The CSW will observe the living environment and may ask to see the child’s room.
3) Health and education. Updates on immunisations, dental checks, CAMHS or counselling, medication, SEN support, and PEP targets. If the child has an EHCP, the CSW will want to know how the plan is working in practice.
4) Voice and wishes. The CSW should record the child’s views, including how the placement is going and what they want to change. The child can ask for an extra visit at any time if something feels urgent—do remind them of this right.
What happens during an SSW visit?
SSW supervisions are part support, part professional oversight—think of them as your protected space to reflect and plan. Typical elements include:
1) Reflective practice. What’s going well? What’s hard? What support or training would help? This might include therapeutic approaches (e.g., PACE), behaviour strategies, or respite planning.
2) Safer-caring and recording. The SSW will check your safer-caring policy, daily logs, incident forms, and that you’re storing information securely. They’ll look at patterns—school attendance, contact feedback, health appointments—to help you anticipate issues.
3) Practical support. Mileage claims, equipment, short breaks, holiday allowances, transport to contact, and how to escalate if something isn’t in place.
4) Preparation for panel/review. For newly approved carers, supervisions often intensify in the first months to help you embed good practice before your first annual review; the frequency may reduce later if things are stable. (Your agency policy sets the baseline, and then it flexes to your needs.)
When will there be extra visits?
Expect additional visits if any of the following apply:
- New placement or placement change (CSW will visit within a week, and your SSW may schedule extra support early on).
- Concerns or allegations (SSW and managers will visit promptly; you’ll be supported through the process).
- Significant change (new school, family court decisions, health crisis, missing episodes).
- On request from you or the child—don’t hesitate to ask.
Do visits differ in Kent, Hounslow and nearby areas?
The statutory CSW timetable is the same across England (it’s national law). What varies locally is the SSW supervision frequency set by each fostering service. From publicly available policies, many teams schedule monthly supervisions as a baseline (some specify six-weekly), and will increase frequency with new carers, complex plans, or where extra help is needed. Always follow your agency handbook for the exact pattern where you live.
How long do visits take—and what should I prepare?
Most supervisions are 60–90 minutes at home; CSW visits vary by purpose but allow a similar window so there’s time to speak privately with the child. To make visits smoother:
- Keep a simple log (daily highlights, concerns, triggers/strategies that worked).
- File key documents (care plan, placement plan, safer-caring policy, medical/education updates, contact schedules).
- List questions in advance (allowances, equipment, school transport, training, respite).
- Invite feedback from birth children in the household—they matter in the placement’s success.
- Be honest when things are hard. Visits are not tests; they’re the quickest way to get help.
Will visits ever be reduced?
Yes—designated long-term placements can move to six-monthly CSW visits after the first year if appropriate, and some services reduce SSW supervision to six-weekly or bi-monthly where households are stable. That said, if anything changes—new risks, school issues, contact worries—frequency will step back up. The aim is always to balance stability with safeguarding.
What about unannounced visits when I’m out?
If an unannounced SSW visit happens while you’re out, your SSW will record who answered the door, who was looking after the child, and what alternative arrangements are in place. They may ask to revisit soon to complete the check. If you have a babysitter, grandparent, or respite carer covering, make sure they know where to find key information and who to call.
Quick recap
- Expect two types of visits: the child’s social worker (statutory timetable) and your supervising social worker (agency timetable).
- CSW: within 1 week of placement, then every 6 weeks in year one, then every 3 months (with potential 6-monthly in designated long-term placements). Extra visits happen when needed or requested.
- SSW: regular supervisions set by your service (commonly monthly or six-weekly) plus at least one unannounced visit a year.
- Reviews: IRO-chaired reviews at 20 working days, 3 months, then 6-monthly—expect visits around these dates.
- The child should be seen alone (where appropriate) during CSW visits so their voice is heard.