There's no single way to foster. From short breaks to long-term placements, sibling groups to specialist therapeutic care, we'll work with you to find what fits your family.
Families who can look after children for a break, either on a regular basis or during the holidays. Short breaks give other foster carers and birth families time to recharge, and offer children the consistency of a familiar second home.
Foster carers undertake task-centred work with children, young people and their families. The purpose and intended duration of the placement are either explicit from the start or can be estimated with relative accuracy. Often used while longer-term plans are being made.
Families who can look after children as part of a plan for them to move somewhere else, for example to adoption, permanence, or independence. Bridging carers prepare children for their next chapter while providing stability in the meantime.
A number of foster carers have a definite interest in providing placements for children, young people or sibling groups on a long-term basis. Usually until the child reaches leaving care age (up to 18 years). Long-term placements offer the security and continuity that many children desperately need.
Many of our foster families are able to look after large sibling groups, which ensures that children remain with their brothers and sisters. Keeping siblings together is often the single most important thing for a child entering care.
We have foster parents experienced in caring for children who arrive in the UK without a family or guardian. These young people need families who understand the journey they've been on, the trauma they may carry, and the importance of cultural respect.
Some children and young people have very specific, complex needs that require a higher level of support, services and supervision. Solo placements provide constant individual attention, with no other fostered children in the home. Comes with enhanced support from the social worker, therapist and support team.
Foster parents who care for children with complex needs relating to disabilities, health needs, or behaviours that other carers find challenging. These placements usually come with enhanced packages of support or additional purchased services to meet the child's specific needs.
Staying Put is an arrangement where young people aged 18 or over who were previously looked after remain living in their foster family's home. They become an adult member of the fostering household, with the same support and stability they've always known.
Some children have lived in a residential setting, perhaps because no foster placement was available or they needed a period of direct work and stability first. When a child is ready to move from residential care into a foster family, the move is planned carefully over a period of time, with specific financial and practical support in place so the placement is secure for everyone.
Emergency placements happen when a child needs somewhere safe to stay because of unforeseen circumstances, at any time of the day or night, with planning happening over a very short space of time. Your supervising social worker will talk with you about whether emergency placements are right for your household, including whether you'd consider one in the early hours.
A specialist area of fostering where a young parent and their child live with you together. Carers keep specific records that evidence the parent's parenting capacity, and you'll be trained and supported in exactly how to do that. These placements attract an enhanced fee.
Remand fostering is where the court places a young person in the care of specially trained foster carers instead of custody. Placements are often short, and carers work closely alongside youth offending teams to give the young person stability at a critical moment.
Have a chat with Jeanette. Most foster carers start with one type and move into others as they gain experience. No two journeys are the same.
