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What is fostering?

Fostering is about doing everything you can to support a child who needs a loving home.

Foster carers provide a welcoming and caring environment where children and young people will be safe from harm. You will help to meet the emotional, health and educational needs of our looked after children so they can reach their full potential.

Types of Fostering

Short-term fostering

Short-term fostering can last from an overnight stay to several months. It provides children with a safe, caring home while decisions are made about their future, whether returning to their family or moving to a permanent placement.

Long-term fostering

Sometimes children can’t return home to their families, and they need stability for the long term. Long-term fostering gives children and young people a safe, loving home where they can grow, feel secure and build lasting relationships, often while staying connected to their birth family.

Supporting Foster Carers

You don’t always need a spare bedroom to foster! Supporting Foster Carers offer daytime support for children who need short breaks, while still living with their families or full-time carers. It’s a flexible way to make a real difference and support children who need extra care and stability. 

Parent and child fostering

Parent and child fostering supports a young parent and their baby in a safe, caring environment. These placements help new parents develop the skills and confidence they need, especially if they’ve faced challenges or haven’t experienced positive parenting themselves.

Children and young people come into care from a wide variety of situations, and most of the time, the plan is for the child to return to their family as quickly as possible. However, this is not always possible, and the child or young person may need on-going support until they reach adult life.

Reasons children enter care are:

There are a variety of reasons why children and young people enter care

  • Children may be at risk of harm for example, physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect
  • The child’s parents may have agreed – for example, if they are too unwell to care for their child, or if the child has a disability and need support with their care
  • The child may be lost, abandoned or there may be no one with parental responsibility available to care for them, for example, in the case of unaccompanied, asylum-seeking children

The child may have been charged with a criminal offence and temporarily placed on remand in the care of the local authority.