We know that thinking about fostering throws up a lot of questions. We’ve put together some of the most frequently asked ones here. You are also welcome to contact us, and we will answer any other questions you may have.
- Am I too young/old to foster?
- Do I have to be married to foster?
- Do I need to own my own home?
- Can I foster if I work full time?
- I smoke – will this stop me being able to foster?
- Can I foster if I have a disability or health problem?
- Can I foster if I have a criminal conviction?
- Will I get paid for being a foster carer?
- I am receiving state benefits. Can I still apply to foster a child and will this affect my benefit?
- How old are foster children?
- How long will foster children stay with me?
- Do you need special skills to be a foster carer?
- Will I get training?
- What support will I receive?
- Will there be contact with the child’s family?
- Are all foster children challenging or difficult?
- Does fostering lead to adoption?
- Who can’t be a foster carer?
- How long does it take to be a foster carer and what is involved?
- How do I apply?
The minimum age limit is 21 to foster a child. There is no upper age limit but you do need to be fit and healthy enough to cope with the responsibilities and demands of fostering.
No – we consider all applicants equally regardless of whether you are single, married, an unmarried couple, heterosexual, gay or lesbian.
No – but your home does need to have enough room for the foster child/children, including in most cases their own room and needs to offer a safe and secure environment.
You may be able to foster, as long as your working hours are flexible enough to meet the demands of fostering, e.g. taking and collecting children from school, meetings and contact with the child’s birth family.
Smoking does not stop you fostering, but you would not be able to foster young children from 0 to 5 years old. We would also need to consider how to minimise the health risks to the foster children in your home.
Please contact us to discuss your own circumstances at an early stage. What we need to consider with you is whether your condition would put you or a child at risk if you undertake the demanding tasks of fostering. We request a medical on all applicants and will seek advice on the possible effects of your health or disability.
People with criminal convictions or cautions can foster, however much depends on the seriousness of the offence, how long ago it was, and how you have lived your life since. If you have a conviction for violence or sexual offences against children, you will not be able to foster.
We pay foster carers a weekly allowance to cover the living costs for the foster child, and expenses for attending training/meetings.
You can apply to foster if you receive benefits and fostering will not affect the benefits you receive.
Foster children vary in age from babies to teenagers and in long-term placements up to 18 years old.
This will depend upon the type of fostering you are able/wish to offer. Length of stay in foster care depends on the child’s needs – they may need to stay with a foster carer for a few hours, days, weeks, months or years. The overriding consideration is what is best for the child.
Primarily you need to have a genuine interest in supporting children and their families. You will need to have some experience and understanding of children, either your own, in you wider family, or working with children, either paid or voluntarily. You will need energy and enthusiasm as well as patience and flexibility. We offer training to enhance the skills you already have, and to learn new ones.
Before you can be approved as a foster carer you will need to attend 3 days of preparation training. Once approved we provide an ongoing programme of further training. You will be required to attend a minimum number of training days each year. We also offer the NVQ to our foster carers.
Each foster carer has their own supervising social worker to offer support and advice. We also have regular support groups and a mentoring scheme. If needed there is a social worker available outside of office hours and an emergency duty team.
Many of the children in foster care will continue to have regular contact with their own families, who remain an essential part of their lives. Foster carers need to be able to positively support this.
No, but every fostered child is facing a crisis in their life and this is obviously upsetting for them. They have had to cope with moving out of their own home, this may mean that they need sensitive care.
Sometimes foster care can lead to adoption although it is primarily meant to be temporary care to children.
The child’s needs are very carefully considered which can mean that another person may adopt the child, and not those people who have provided the child with short-term foster care.
Although some foster carers do go on to adopt the child, this is never an automatic outcome. Fostering is not a quick route to adoption.
People under 21 years old, people with convictions against children, people with not enough time or space in their home. People with serious financial difficulties, some illnesses or disabilities (if you are unsure please contact us to discuss this) or people who’s own children are looked after by the local authority.
The process to become a foster carer takes around 6 months. We will undertake a variety of checks and references. A social worker will complete an in-depth assessment, which is then presented to our fostering panel for more information please see the ‘How do I become a foster carer’ page.
You can contact us using the details below.