Types of fostering

Children and young people come into our care for different reasons, so we offer a range of fostering placements to meet their needs.

During the assessment process, we'll talk with you to understand what type of care you are interested in providing.

Once you're assessed, we'll try and arrange fostering placements that match your interest.

Short-term foster care

Short-term care involves caring for up to three children or young people for a specified period of time while a decision is made about their future.

These placements provide opportunities for assessment and often high levels of contact with birth families. Carers will often be involved in working with children, young people and birth families to support a return home. Sometimes, a return home may not be possible. So, support preparing for a move to an adoptive or permanent family placement is needed.

Long-term foster care

Children and young people who are placed in long-term or permanent care will often have significant contact with their birth families, but are not able to live at home. These placements are arranged in a planned way and mean that the child or young person will remain in foster care until they are ready for independence or they reach adulthood. Such placements will often provide a lifelong relationship for all concerned.

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children

This type of foster care placement involves offering a safe, stable and loving home to a child or young person from another country. Many have been separated from their families, either in their homeland or during transit to this country, so are often very distressed and frightened as a result.

As a foster carer specialising in asylum-seeking fostering, you can help and teach these children the skills that they need to successfully build a new life and ways to overcome their traumatic past.

We try to place children and young people with families where some of the culture or language of the child may be known about. However, this is not always possible, and we therefore want foster carers who are resourceful and will be able to facilitate the young person to maintain their culture. Special training and support is provided.

Emergency foster care

This involves being available at short notice to care for children or young people in an emergency. Emergency care is only intended for very short periods, such as overnight or over a weekend.

Sibling foster care

We will always try to keep sibling groups together. There may be occasions when siblings cannot be placed together because of concerns about behaviour or risk.

Respite foster care

There may be occasions when foster carers are unable to provide care for their 'looked after' child. This could be because carers are unable to take children on holiday with them, or they could be spending a short period in hospital for a minor operation. On these occasions, respite carers support a placement for a short period of time.

Parent child foster care

There are times when parent and child placements are the most suitable way of safeguarding a child while maintaining the developing relationship with their parent. Parent and child foster placements offer a home to a baby or young child together with their parent.

The aim of this placement approach is to provide a safe, family-based placement for the parent and child. The foster carer does not provide parental care (except if required) but helps and encourages the parent to develop their skills. The foster carer has an important role in observing how the parent looks after the child.

Remand foster care

Remand foster care involves offering a home to alleged young offenders aged between 10 and 17 while they are awaiting trial or sentencing. We understand that some people may be nervous about remand placements and so provide dedicated training and assessment so that you have the skills and knowledge that you need.

Make a difference to a child’s life

Our looked after children come from all walks of life, so we need foster carers and adopters who reflect that. Can you offer a stable, loving and happy family?

Start your journey today and be the difference!