Frequently asked questions

We have Foster Carers aged from their mid-20s right through to their 60s – some of our best carers didn’t start fostering until they were in their 50s.

Yes, so long as you don’t smoke inside your home. Note that some local authorities will not place children under 5 years with carers who smoke.

It doesn’t matter whether you are married, in a relationship, single, straight or gay – as long as you can provide a safe and welcoming home for a young person.

Minor offences you committed some time ago needn’t exclude you from fostering. People move on and we try to take a balanced view of where you are in your life presently. You cannot foster, however, if you have committed serious offences like violence or crimes against children.

If you are already fostering, you have every right to consider alternatives if you wish to change agency. You should not feel pressured by your current agency to remain with them.

Should you decide to transfer to our agency, we will guide you through the process to ensure it is as smooth as possible for everyone involved.

If there is a child in placement with you, they are the first consideration. The move would be well managed and follow all current guidelines. If there are no children in placement, the process is more straightforward.

Few Foster Carers start off with all the abilities they need, and that is why we give you the initial “Skills to Foster” courses followed by post-approval training. Most people are surprised by the skills they already have – we’ll help you develop them.

You do not need specific qualifications to become a Foster Carer, although some experience of caring for children, either personally or professionally, would help. The most important qualities we look for in Foster Carers are the enthusiasm and commitment to provide a child with a secure family environment.

we identify and risk factors and their triggers. This allows us to put safeguards in place and provide you with strategies to manage challenging behaviour. We also provide you with extra support and respite on an on-going basis, as well as help from our therapy team.

The training and support we give you helps to face emotive issues, including difficult times such as when it’s time for a child to move on from your family.

Sharing your family with another child is bound to have an effect on your family. Talk to your children and partner to find out how they feel about welcoming a foster child into your home. If they are supportive, it’s still important to spend quality time with all family members.

Fostering is usually more successful if you have a strong support network of family and friends.

If your home is safe and welcoming and the child has their own bedroom, then it almost certainly is.

You do not have to own your property to become a Foster Carer. The important thing is that you can provide a secure home environment.

When you foster a child, we give you a generous allowance to cover the costs of food, clothing, personal care, pocket money, activities and travel costs.

These payments should not affect any benefits you receive or tax you pay.

We provide guidance on how money should be spent on each child, to ensure that the child has a healthy and balanced upbringing.

The fostering allowance reflects the value we place on our carers. You will find that the allowance means you can fully meet the needs of the foster child as well as assisting you with your own living costs.

As you become more experienced and undergo more training, your allowance increases – and is reviewed.

Ideally, there should be one carer at home on a full time basis.

We reduce the risk of this happening by planning foster placements well and giving each child and family the opportunity to get to know each other.

With clear boundaries and expectations in place from the beginning, there’s a good chance the foster child and your family will get on very well.

But if it doesn’t work out, your supervising social worker will be on hand to discuss the problems and help you solve them.

Yes, we encourage you to do this wherever it’s possible. In fact, we started a bursary scheme in 2009 which supports young people’s “experience of a lifetime” to help foster carers travel with their foster children. One young person has travelled around the world!

Yes. Each family is different so we would need to chat about how fostering would fit in with your family. If your children are aged 12 or over, we would love to speak to you.

When adopting a child, they become a permanent and legal part of your family. Fostering is different. It usually means offering a temporary home to children until they return to their immediate family or move on to live with another relative or remain with you until they are independent. In all cases however, you look after the child as though they are your own son or daughter.

Whilst Foster Carers have day-to-day responsibility for a child, they do not have legal rights over them.

Yes, we will share all the available information about the child’s history and behaviour.

Some children have contact with their birth family, but others do not. However, research shows that, if a child has contact with their family, it usually improves the stability of their foster placement. If you do meet family members, it will usually be during these contact periods or at meetings.

We try hard to place children with Foster Carers who share the same race, language, culture and dietary requirements – but if you are asked to look after a child from a different culture, we’ll support you in meeting their cultural needs.

Foster children are normally placed with Foster Carers who live near their current school. However, if it’s not practical for them to travel, younger children may transfer schools when they move into a long term foster home. If your question wasn't answered here, please contact our friendly team who will be more than happy to help.