[This course will take you about 1 hour 15 mins to complete.]

As a foster carer, you might, on some occasions, be required to go to court or to support a foster child who is going to court. You might think that this course will not apply to you as nothing ‘bad’ happened to you or the foster child. However, court attendance might occur more often than you think, and not only for extreme cases like allegations or criminal offences but also for things like birth parents being unhappy about contact. So, it’s better to be prepared, just in case.

The objective of this course is not to scare you or to make you an expert in the UK Court system. It is simply an introduction to the system in order to familiarise you with it in case you are involved in court proceedings in the future.

In this course, you will learn:
- The three main types of law that are used in the English and Welsh court systems (please note Scotland and Northern Ireland have different jurisdiction to England and Wales).
- The different types of courts and what types of cases they hear.
- The specific laws and courts that are available for children and young people.
- Key people in the courtroom.
- Organisations such as Cafcass and how they help children during legal cases.
- How to prepare a child and yourself for appearing in court.
- How remand fostering fits into the legal system.
- Key legal terms.