If you are thinking about fostering, you’ve probably got a few questions.
Perhaps you want to know if you are able to become a foster carer. Or you might want to know what changes to make to your home. You may have questions about money. How much will you get paid for fostering or what do you have to pay for?
Check out the answers to some of the fostering questions we’ve been asked by people just like you, who are compassionate, caring and ready to help change a child’s life. Some answers may surprise you!
If we haven’t covered YOUR FOSTER CARE QUESTION please get in touch. We’d love to help you with your fostering journey.
Could I foster?
You need to be at least 21 years old to be approved as a foster carer in England. There is no upper age limit. It’s great if you have some life experience that you can bring to fostering. You’ll need the capacity and stamina to look after a child or children.
No! You’ll go through a training programme called ‘Skills to Foster’ as part of the assessment process to become an approved foster carer. All approved foster carers have access to ongoing training to increase their knowledge, widen their skill set, and keep them up to date.
Read more about training to be a foster carer here.
You can be single, married, living together, in a civil partnership or separated/divorced. And, no you don’t need to be in a relationship to foster!
No! You’ll need to determine if you have sufficient flexibility in your working life to care for a fostered child.
If you do work, you may find fostering a school age child will be best. You’ll be responsible for tasks such as school runs, just as you would be for your own child or children.
Yes. Many carers have their own children – we carefully match a child to your family. Having your own children means you already have valuable childcare experience that will be useful when you start fostering.
Your children will need to be on board with fostering. As part of our foster carer assessment process, your own children’s views will be taken into consideration.
Yes. Anyone has the potential to be a foster parent, regardless of sexual orientation. We need foster carers who can support and help children of all ages to be who they want to be. As members of New Family Social, we are a charity that supports and empowers the LGBTQ+ community to foster.
Having a disability or health (physical or mental) condition won’t stop you from becoming a foster carer. We need a diverse range of foster carers. Everyone who applies to foster has to undergo a medical and we will look at what we can put in place to support you to become a successful foster carer.
Fostering regulations state that if you smoke, that you do so outside and away from children. But be aware that you cannot foster a child aged 5 or younger if you smoke.
Having a police record does not necessarily mean you can’t become a foster carer. It does depend on what the offence was and how long ago it was committed. Everyone who applies to be a foster carer has to have a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check. You’ll need to provide further information about the offence during the foster carer application process – before we can make a decision.
If you think this is something you want to do, we will support you to be successful. Our network of foster carers are a diverse bunch, but they are truly passionate about what they do to help vulnerable children in their care. They can share their experiences and help you to think through your decision.
You’ll need to be ready to cope with learning a lot of new skills as you grow into your role as a foster carer. And, you’ll have our whole team there to help you every day.
Setting up my home For Fostering?
Yes. You will need at least one spare bedroom in your home for a child.
This is because a fostered child requires their own space and privacy – something they may never have had before.
There may be situations where fostered siblings can share a bedroom, or a baby can share your own bedroom – but the criteria for being an approved foster carer is having a spare bedroom. You don’t need to own your home though.
Yes, you do. The expectation is that a foster child will have their own bedroom and not share with either birth or other children you look after in your home.
BUT, in the case of siblings (usually same sex siblings), the Local Authority may request they share a room. Or they may be happy that the siblings can share. This discussion takes place as part of the process of matching children with the right foster family. Factors such as safety, age and room space are taken into account, as well as the foster carer’s own thoughts and home environment.
A child’s room needs to have a bed, wardrobe and any other items needed to ensure a child’s care needs are met. We believe that it’s right for children to be able to personalise their rooms with pictures/posters etc. – doing things to help them to feel it is their own safe space, and to settle into their new home.
Yes. You do not need to own your home to foster. As long as you have a legally-binding tenancy contract with your landlord, renting a home isn’t a barrier to fostering.
You still need at least one spare bedroom available for fostering.
Yes. A lot of children love animals, so other than any known allergies or fears, pets can be a good thing!
Yes! You can have lots of visitors who occasionally pop in or drop round – just as you would normally. However, if someone is considered a regular or frequent visitor to your home they may need to have a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check. As part of the fostering assessment process we’ll help you to work out if that’s needed for anyone in your social circle.
Most of the children will see their family away from the foster home. However every situation is different. So, if the child’s family are considered to be safe and suitable people to visit their child in your home, you may be asked to agree to this. Having their family visit in this way can be reassuring to the child as well as their family.
Fees & Payments?
When a child is placed with you, you will be paid to provide foster care. The amount you receive is made up of two elements: 1. Professional Foster Carer Fee and 2. A Fostering Allowance – an amount set by the government to help provide things like food clothing for the child(ren). We also pay extra allowances for the child’s birthday – as well as allowances to pay for going away on holiday and religious festivals (e.g. Christmas).
Read more about our fees, and view some examples here. You can also read about the training and support we provide.
Making an initial enquiry is simple. Either fill out our short form here – or call us on 0800 0856 538. One of our knowledgeable team will get in touch for a chat. We are not going to put any pressure on you to make a decision or try to sell you on the idea of fostering. There is an assessment process that you will go through, should you want to become a foster carer. You can change your mind at any time. Fostering is a life choice, and it has to be right for you.
When a young person reaches the age of 18, they are no longer considered to be ‘looked after’ or in foster care. But, at 18 they may stay with their foster family, if that’s what everyone wants. This is called “staying put” and it’s an arrangement between the foster carers and the Local Authority. It’s important that the young person is ready for independent living outside the home.
Sometimes, a move to independent living can occur before the young person is 18 years old, but this would be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
The most important thing is that the young person is supported according to their needs and aspirations.
Children can also leave foster care at any other time. They may be able to return to their family or they may be adopted. The Local Authority determines this on a case by case basis and full information about the circumstances are shared with foster carers as part of the matching process.
Whenever a child is placed with a foster family we have a Placement Planning meeting. This is where we talk with our foster carers about everything to do with the child’s day to day care.
This discussion can include arrangements about pocket money and how much to give.
For example, carers may be in a situation where their birth children don’t receive pocket money and instead are allowed treats through the week. As part of the Placement Planning Meeting we’d discuss options and it may be that the looked after child follows the same rules – overall it is about communication and negotiation to ensure the situation is fair and transparent.
As part of our contract with the Local Authority to look after a child a small amount is set aside by us (usually amounting to £3-£5 per week) to go into the child’s saving account. This is a Junior ISA account that is opened by the Local Authority. Our finance team have the details and manage the ISA, paying in all the savings that are agreed. You don’t need to do anything.
Foster Carers can if they want to, pay extra into savings. The best way to do this is to speak to our finance team to make arrangements.
Savings arrangements are something that you can discuss with your Social Worker to understand further what you can or should do for children in your care.
LOCAL FOSTERING DROP-IN SESSIONS
our team to have a chat!
#notforprofitfostering
Holidays & Taking a Break?
Carers are able and encouraged to take children on holidays through the year.
This may be a longer family holiday in the summer or other school holidays, or a series of weekends away.
We pay a holiday allowance to carers for each foster child and our carers are able to claim up to 14 days holiday allowance for each child per year. To make a claim, carers will fill out and submit a holiday allowance claim form to our finance team department. Our Supervising Social Workers (SSW) will assist carers to complete holiday claims as needed.
When planning a holiday with your foster child, it is important you discuss arrangements with your Supervising Social Worker as early as possible. For instance, what are the sleeping arrangements, are there any possible risks that need to be managed? We will support you with sorting the details beforehand.
In every case when a child is staying away from the usual placement address, it is vital that carers let their Social Worker know as we need to keep up to date records.
In some circumstances, carers may decide to use the holiday allowance to take day trips. The holiday allowance can be used for such circumstances, especially where taking a child away for an extended period may be problematic due to their needs.
Yes! Carers are able to take children abroad on holiday and many of our carers do!
We encourage carers to take children on holidays and we provide up to 14 days a year holiday allowance per foster child to support this.
If you are going abroad on holiday, then permission must be sought from the Local Authority to take the child out of the country. This will be done through your Supervising Social Worker, who will correspond with the child’s social worker for agreement.
It is important to gain the agreement of the Local Authority before booking any trip abroad and to ensure that the child has a valid passport to travel.
If the child does not have a current passport, we will liaise with the Local Authority to ensure that one is applied for. In some circumstances this can take time, but we will advocate on your and the child’s behalf to ensure it is completed. The Local Authority (as they have parental responsibility) have to apply for the passport. We and our carers are unable to apply for passports for foster children.
As with all holidays it is important you discuss arrangements beforehand with your supervising social worker. We will need to update our systems with details including the address where you will be staying.
Fostering is a hugely rewarding life choice, but it can also be challenging. As a foster carer, you will receive 14 days ‘respite’ per year. Respite is when another foster carer looks after the child(ren) placed with you, so you can recharge your batteries!
We allocate 14 days respite care to every carer. We believe this is an important part of supporting our carers, allowing them to have breaks away from the fostering task.
The respite allocation can be taken in parts – for instance 1 night away or a 2 night weekend break or as a larger block of 1 or 2 weeks.
Respite can be vital in allowing foster carers time away to recharge – spending time without day to day child responsibilities. Some carers use this time to be with their family and relatives – or to have their birth family around them.
We advocate for carers to take this vital time and in no way is it seen as a negative. It is protected as part of your foster carer contract with us.
We ask that carers inform their Social Worker of any planned respite as soon as possible so arrangements can be agreed and the respite period recorded on file.
During respite, the looked after children will go to another foster carer within our agency or stay with an approved Back-Up Carer. Back-Up Carers are usually family members or close friends of the main foster carers and so they already know the child(ren) and have been approved by us to provide short term periods of care. The children call respite, having a “sleepover break”.
Getting Started?
The training and assessment process to become a foster carer involves a residential weekend, eight to ten visits to your home, collecting references, doing police checks and a making a full report to the fostering panel. This is hard to achieve in less than four months and more typically takes six months. It can take longer. Because we believe matching the right carer with the right child is very important, we will take time to make sure everything is set up and in place before a child moves in with you. It’s important that you are ready for your first placement. Read more about becoming a foster parent here.
Yes, it is your home and you will always have the last word on who lives there. As part of our foster carer assessment process we will clarify the age and numbers of children that you can look after. We will share all the available information about the children who need a foster family, to help you decide if you can help these children and they will be happy with you.
As an approved foster carer, your supervising social worker will get in touch with you when we find a possible match for your household. However, you will always make the final decision about who you look after.
All foster carers who are looking after a foster child have Delegated Authority.
Delegated authority is the process that enables foster carers to make common sense, everyday decisions about the children and young people they care for. This might be about allowing them to go to friends’ houses for sleepovers, signing consent forms for school trips or arranging haircuts. The care children receive should feel natural. We don’t want to create barriers for people who are foster parents.
In preparation for a foster child coming to live with you, we have a Placement Planning meeting. This is where the carers supported by our social workers, talk through lots of details about the care of the child(ren) with the Local Authority social worker. Depending on the age and their understanding the child may attend also. The ‘Placement Planning Meeting’ should happen within 72 hours of the date the child actually moves in. But in some cases this meeting takes place earlier – especially if this placement is considered a “planned move”.
At this meeting everyone will discuss and agree the delegated authority of the foster carer, as well as safer caring, and how day to day care will be given. It will also cover plans for things like pocket money.
Usually the meeting is at the foster carer’s home and is run by the child’s social worker. Foster carers will receive an agreed plan and documentation of the discussion from the Local Authority after this meeting.