Thinking of fostering but not sure where to begin?

The most important qualities a foster carer can have are – Patience, Empathy, kindness, reliability, consistency and flexibility. A good sense of humour really helps too!

Not at all. We want people from all walks of life who can use their experiences to relate to and support a child or young person. What we will need to see however, is stability within the most recent years, ability to learn from mistakes and resilience to any future potential hardships.

No. As long as you have secure tenancy on your property, we’re happy. If you do rent, we will need to seek landlord permission for you to foster in the property.

Yes, ever child must have his of her own room.

No, but some childcare experience is important. We review this on an individual basis but if you have no childcare experience at all then EFS will suggest some extra reading, training or volunteer work before we start the process.

You must be at least 21 years old to be considered. There is no upper age limit; however, you should be in good health and able to meet the physical and emotional demands of caring for children, as well as attending meetings, training sessions, and fulfilling other fostering responsibilities.

No, you do not need to be married or have a partner. We welcome single applicants!

Ideally, yes. You will receive excellent support from EFS but for more day to day support (such as pick up from school if you are stuck at work) we recommend having at least one person (a friend or family member) who would be willing to be your named support. Depending on the level of their involvement, this person would need to be DBS checked. This is especially important if you are a single carer.

Yes. However, fostering is a demanding role, and you need to make sure you are available to support the children, attend meetings, training and supervision sessions. As a rule of thumb – we would suggest that one person in a couple work no more than part time hours while the other can work full time. If you are a single carer, we suggest working no more than part time hours. Having said this, we are more than happy to discuss your individual situation as we would also consider how flexible your role is and look at things like your support network.

Yes, but we would like to add that this is an allowance to allow you to support the child you are looking after and provide for all their needs. EFS will pay you a minimum of £450 per week for each child you are Fostering. The exact payment you will receive is directly affected by the needs of the child and by the payment structure of the Local Authority who is responsible for that child. Carers looking after children who require more intense or tailored care who have very complex behavioural or physical needs would expect a higher allowance.

No. We spend a lot of time making sure that we put the right children with the right carers and vice versa. We want stability for these children after all. You can tell us what age, what gender, what specific needs you do or don’t want to consider. It’s worth you knowing though, that your views might change as you go through the training. That’s fine. We’ll always respect your feelings.

We won’t lie to you. There will be challenges. Those children from chaotic backgrounds will have trouble coming to terms with their new situation and may have “learned strategies” for coping with their problems. These can often seem baffling, inappropriate and self-defeating. The child or young person may see you as the immediate solution to their problems but it’s just as likely they’ll make you work for their trust. At the same time, you’ll be helping the child to develop new behaviours and responses to problems.

With the right motivation, support and training, the challenges you may face are a mountain you CAN climb. We’ll be with you every step of the way. And we can promise you the rewards that come with bringing a positive change to a troubled young life are unique and well worth it!

We really want to continue to provide one of the lowest social worker to carer ratios in the fostering sector. This means we can safely say that support, guidance and advice will always be on hand and not just during normal office hours but via our carer hotline which is available 24/7 and manned by someone you’ll have got to know. Please visit the support page to learn more.

Yes. If you are looking at short term foster care, you have the option of taking a break after a child has moved on and before another child moves in. We may well encourage this to give you chance to take a break and recharge your batteries.

If you are fostering for a longer period of time, then we have carers dedicated to respite care who can care for your child whilst you take a break or go on holiday. We just ask that you plan this in advance where possible so that we can make arrangements. In the case of an emergency, we will always do our best to find temporary alternative care. Of course, you are always welcome to take a foster child with you on your holidays!

As part of the assessment process a number of checks are carried out to ensure we are supporting children moving into a safe and stable home. These include –

• DBS checks for all household members over 18.
• LA checks for any area you have lived over the past ten years (longer if children involved)
• Finance checks
• Medical
• Ex-partner checks where children involved and if appropriate
• References from current employer and any job where you have worked with children.
• Health and safety checks – property and pets.

When you become a foster carer, you will be working as part of a team to ensure that any child you look after is receiving the best care and support possible. You will have professionals visiting your home on a semi-regular basis. These include your social worker who will visit monthly for your supervision and the child’s social worker, who will visit six-weekly. You will also work alongside the EFS team as well as needing to meet and communicate with staff at the child’s school, LAC nurses and other healthcare professionals including any therapeutic care the child may be receiving.

You can find detailed information on transferring agencies here.

There are a few requirements that if not met, we would not be able to continue with your interest. These include –

• Lack of stable accommodation and not having a spare room.
• Having been convicted of a crime involving children, sexual offences or domestic abuse.
• Having been convicted of any crime within the last 5 years.
• Significant, untreated health issues.

We hope you found this Question and Answer section helpful and you are still interested in fostering. If you would like to know more, please get in touch!