The Reflective Fostering Programme-Adapting a group parenting programme for online delivery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.

OBJECTIVE: In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown restrictions, service providers faced significant challenges in delivering programmes to support their vulnerable service users. Foster carers-an already often isolated group of caregivers - were offered an adapted remote-delivery model of the Reflective Fostering Programme (Redfern et al., Adopt. Foster., 42, 2018, 234) from March 2020. METHOD: This paper outlines the adaptation process of the original programme to online-remote delivery and describes the feedback from participants in the programme. RESULTS: The adaptation of the Reflective Fostering programme to online, remote delivery had both strengths and weaknesses - including wider access to foster carers who might struggle to attend in person and challenge a to maintaining a Mentalizing space online and ensuring confidentiality within a therapeutic space. The programme was overwhelmingly well received by foster carers in this format. CONCLUSIONS: There are opportunities and challenges in the delivery of online therapeutic services, particularly those with a group format. This paper contributes initial reflections to what we hope will be a rapidly developing literature on best practice of supporting group services in an online format.

The Reflective Fostering Programme-improving the wellbeing of children in care through a group intervention for foster carers: a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The needs of children in care are a government priority, yet the evidence base for effective interventions to support the emotional wellbeing of children in care is lacking. Research suggests that supporting the carer-child relationship, by promoting the carer's reflective parenting, may be an effective approach to improving the wellbeing of these children. METHODS: The study comprises a definitive, superiority, two-armed, parallel, pragmatic, randomised controlled trial, with embedded process evaluation and economic evaluation, and an internal pilot, to evaluate the effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness, of the Reflective Fostering Programme. Randomisation is at the individual level using a 1:1 allocation ratio. The study is being conducted in local authority sites across England, and is targeted at foster carers (including kinship carers) looking after children aged 4 to 13. Consenting participants are randomly allocated to the Reflective Fostering Programme (intervention arm) in addition to usual support or usual support alone (control arm). The primary outcome is behavioural and emotional wellbeing of the child 12 months post-baseline, and secondary outcomes include the following: foster carer's level of stress, quality of life, reflective capacity, compassion fatigue and burnout, placement stability, the quality of the child-carer relationship, child's capacity for emotional regulation, and achievement of personalised goals set by the carer. DISCUSSION: A feasibility study has indicated effectiveness of the Programme in improving the child-carer relationship and emotional and behavioural wellbeing of children in care. This study will test the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of implementing the Reflective Fostering Programme as an additional aid to the support already available to local authority foster carers. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN 70832140 .