Providing a Secure Base in Long-Term Foster Care

Providing a Secure Base in Long-Term Foster Care by Mary Beek and Gillian Schofield is a specialist book about the relationships and care that help children feel secure in long-term foster family placements. The authors examine the role of foster carers in providing a dependable base for children who may have experienced disruption, adversity or uncertainty before entering care.

The idea of a secure base is central to understanding how children build trust, manage relationships and develop a sense of safety. In a foster-care setting, this involves more than meeting immediate practical needs. It also includes the emotional availability, consistency and understanding that enable children to form relationships and explore the world with greater confidence.

The book is relevant to foster carers and professionals working in child protection, social work and family support. It provides a framework for reflecting on the demands of long-term foster care and the ways carers can respond to children's needs across different stages of development. The focus is on the quality of caregiving relationships and the role those relationships play in children's lives.

For practitioners, students and readers interested in foster care, attachment and child welfare, this title offers a focused contribution to specialist literature. It can support professional learning and discussion about how long-term placements can provide children with continuity, reassurance and a stable family environment.

Readers can also place the book alongside other titles on this subject, using it as a reference for further study and discussion. Its ideas can be revisited over time as new questions and interests develop.

Product Details

Author: Mary Beek and Gillian Schofield
Publisher: British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF)
Format: Paperback
Approx. Dimensions: 21.6 × 13.8 × 1.5 cm
Approx. Weight: 280 g
Language: English
ISBN: 9781903699409
Delivery Time: 5–7 Business Days