Robert Tapsfield, chief executive of the Fostering Network said: “The case of the 17 month-old girl in foster care in Portsmouth who recently drowned in a swimming pool is extremely tragic. It does however reinforce the need to ensure that a full assessment of the foster carer and their surrounding environment is conducted before a child is placed in their care.
“The approval process is rightly very detailed and the assessment process can take up to a year. Fostering providers must follow National Minimum Fostering Standards, set by the Department of Health; the standards are there to ensure that foster children are protected and receive the very best possible care.
“The regulations state that foster carers must provide a safe, healthy and nurturing environment in order to be approved. The home and immediate environment must be free of avoidable hazards and contain safety barriers and equipment appropriate to the child’s age, development and level of ability. It also states that the home must be inspected annually to make sure that it meets the needs of foster children.
“This issue is about more than risk assessment. It is also about ensuring that a child is properly supervised at all times, and this needs to be given even greater priority around water. We know that very young children are most at risk of drowning. Safety measures should be adopted particularly around children under ten to minimise risk.
“It is important that lessons are learnt from this very sad case and that all foster carers are mindful of potential dangers and risk to the children in their care. It is a very delicate balancing act between foster children leading a ‘normal’ life and the importance of maintaining high standard of safety that avoid risk.”