We offer a range of flexible fostering placements to suit your lifestyle, along with ongoing training and a great support package.

There is a huge variety and diversity in the children and young people who need a safe and loving home and we aim to reflect this in our foster carers.

We need loving homes for children of all ages up to 18 years. Including babies and toddlers, older children and teenagers, sometimes for brothers and sisters who need to stay together.

Some children have special needs, these could be physical disabilities and/or learning difficulties and need special care. Children from different backgrounds may have special requirements and have particular cultural or religious needs.

Short Term

Short term foster carer may involve looking after a child on an emergency basis for as short as an overnight stay or having a child with you for a few months or even a year or two, before they return home or move onto a more permanent home.   By providing short term foster care you can give a child in an unsettled situation the security they need and the time they need it most.

 

Long Term

Being a permanent carer for a child or young person essentially means they live with you until they reach independence, but unlike adoption, the legal powers regarding the child or young person will remain with the local authority.

This means providing a stable family environment for children, often for older children and teenagers, who cannot live with their birth families. 

Respite

Respite care involves looking after children on a short term basis, who are already placed with foster carers to give ‘respite’ or a short break to their carers.  It is an ideal type of fostering for anyone who would like to foster but is (maybe initially) unable to commit to a long term placement due to limited free time.  It gives the opportunity to benefit from all the same training and support as full-time foster carers, without having to commit to long term placements.

Respite care is flexible and can vary from one-off emergency placements to a regular arrangement, where you support a child and foster family on an ongoing basis. 

Sibling Groups and Teenagers

We need homes for children of all ages up to 18 years, but there is a consistent need for foster carers to look after sibling groups for whom the security and comfort of staying together in a foster home is essential. Foster carer Pip spoke to us about why she thinks it's so important to keep sibling's together where possible.

 

Short Breaks for Children with Disabilities

Short breaks care helps to relieve the pressure on parents and families caring for children with disabilities and / or health conditions.  As a short break carer, you become a partner family to a child and their family, supporting them by caring for the child overnight on an agreed programme (e.g. one weekend per month).  This means it’s an ideal area of care for people who work full-time or have limited free time.

• The majority of these children are not looked after by the local authority, but live at home with their parents.
• Short break carers have the opportunity to develop long terms relationships with the parents, families, and children they are caring for.
• Children are matched to carers with appropriate skills and experience, plus bespoke and specialist training is provided to help you meet the individual needs of a child.

Family and Friends Care

Wherever possible, when a child is no longer able to live with their parents they would ideally be looked after by a family member or a family friend they are close to.  Family and friends carers follow a standard approval process and are provided with the support and training required to help them meet the needs of the child they are looking after.

Related links

• Why choose us?
• Support and training
• Meet the carers
• Frequently asked questions
• Get in touch