Question: How can foster care homes ensure the safety of children?

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Guidance Safe working in education, childcare and children’s social care settings, including the use of personal protective equipment (PPE)
section_headers: What care should be taken in foster care settings?
section_content: Foster homes in which no one is showing symptoms of coronavirus should respond
to coronavirus like any other domestic household. This should not prevent the
delivery of care to children.
If foster carers are caring for a child who develops symptoms of coronavirus,
their fostering service should:

assess the ability of the carer to continue to deliver care to the child
ensure the foster home follows the guidance for households to avoid the spread of infection
consult the foster carer on how best to protect themselves and the child

If foster carers develop symptoms of coronavirus, their fostering service
should:

assess the ability of the carer to continue to deliver care to the child
ensure the foster home follows the guidance for households to avoid the spread of infection
if additional support is needed for the carer or child, ensure that staff providing this care are provided with PPE prior to entering the home and follow the guidance below on home visiting

Foster carers are able to request PPE from their fostering service provider,
if needed, in line with guidance for local authorities on children’s social
care.
*[PPE]: personal protective equipment

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
Has information specifically for foster homes with links to additional resources.
This answer has a lot of detail on how to keep foster homes safe, including if a child does develops symptoms.

Reviewer ratings:
Excellent
Excellent

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Guidance Safe working in education, childcare and children’s social care settings, including the use of personal protective equipment (PPE)
section_headers: What care should be taken in residential settings, including residential schools, residential special schools and children’s care homes?
section_content: Residential settings in which no one is showing symptoms should respond to
coronavirus like any other domestic household. However, it is important that
soft toys are not shared between children.
Where a child in a residential setting develops symptoms of coronavirus:

staff can continue to enter and leave the home as required, consistent staff rotas should be used where possible and staff should follow good infection prevention control
the isolation guidance for residential settings should be followed
staff should wear PPE for activities requiring close contact
staff should adhere to social distancing guidelines as far as they are able to, but should take account of children’s emotional needs

*[PPE]: personal protective equipment

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
Has basic information about keeping people safe in residential settings like foster homes.
This explains in detail with multiple pieces of advice on making foster homes safe.

Reviewer ratings:
Excellent
Excellent

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Guidance Safe working in education, childcare and children’s social care settings, including the use of personal protective equipment (PPE)
section_headers: How should I care for young children or children with special educational needs who do not understand why they must stay apart or who ignore distancing guidelines?
section_content: Young children and children with special educational needs may not be able to
understand the need for social distancing and may also seek close interaction
with their peers or adults to provide reassurance at a period of disruption to
their routines.
It is imperative that education, childcare and children’s social care settings
conduct risk assessments around managing groups of children within the
setting. This should include limiting the number of children in each group and
reducing this to provide more space in each classroom or learning area.
As far as possible, small groups of children should be supported by consistent
staffing, and groups should remain as consistent as possible throughout the
outbreak.

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
Has general information for settings with lots of children, much of which also applies to foster homes.
This is more about children in group situations in general. It has some information relevant to foster homes, but is mostly not relevant.

Reviewer ratings:
Acceptable
Could be Improved