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All about a Foster Carer

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What is a foster carer or a foster parent?

Foster carers are people or a person who officially take a child into their family for a certain period of time, without becoming the child’s legal parents. Foster carers are also known as foster parents.

Foster care is a way of providing a stable family life for children and young people who are unable to live with their parents or other relatives.

Foster Care is different from adoption, an adoption ends a child’s legal relationship with their natural family, whereas looked after children (the children in foster care) remains the legal responsibility of the local authority and/or their birth parents.

Why should one consider fostering?

Around 53,420 children (Source: Fostering Network, March 2017) are placed with foster families in England. This is nearly 78% of the 68,000 children in care on any one day.

Providing a foster care placement in your home, allows a child or young person the chance to thrive in a safe, secure, and caring home environment. Fostering is challenging but also rewarding at the same time. It takes time, patience and commitment to foster.

Becoming a foster carer is a big decision; it will impact on your life, others around you and the child or young person in your care. You will, however, have the opportunity to change a child or young person’s life.

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Foster carer's allowance and other benefits

Sunbeam offers up to £650 fostering allowance per child per week depending on children’s needs. However, the amount of Fostering allowance paid depends on the type of foster care, the age of the child or young person and fostering placement type.

Fostering pay rates are not regulated by the government so each private agency or independent Fostering Agencies or local authority can decide how much they pay their carers.

Fostering allowance varies according to the type of fostering you do, and it’s depending on children’s needs. The older the child or young person the higher the fostering professional fee and pay.

How to become a foster carer

The path to becoming a Foster Carer requires a commitment to the assessment process and our current foster carers would be happy to share their experiences of the assessment process.

Step 1: Make an Enquiry
Step 2: Initial Home Visit
Step 3: Application form
Step 4: Fostering Assessment
Step 5: Preparation training
Step 6: Panel
Step 7: Approved

If you have any questions about fostering, simply click here and get in touch.

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How long does it take to become a foster carer?

There are a number of things involved in the process. For example, local authority check, police check, and medical checks etc. Normally this can take from 3-6 months depending on how quickly we receive these checks and other related actions to become a foster parent.

You will receive full support at all stages and help with anything you are unsure of.

Every agency is different, so choosing the right one means making sure you can look after your choice of foster children, get the best foster carer’s support and the financial benefits that are right for you.

Are you passionate about making a difference for children and have time and energy to give to a child?

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A Guide To Foster Care & Becoming A Carer

FAQs

About becoming a foster carer

DO I NEED TO BE MARRIED TO BECOME A FOSTER CARER?
No. You can be married, single, divorced or living together. The main thing that you need is to be able to provide a safe and supportive environment for your foster child.
I WORK, AM I STILL ABLE TO BECOME A FOSTER CARER?
Yes, you would be able to work part-time if you are a single foster parent to ensure that you are able to fulfil your commitments, you would need to make sure that your working arrangement is flexible so that you can tend to any emergencies that would arise with a foster child if needed. If you are a couple who have decided to become foster parents you would need to make sure that one of you is available at all times. This could be making sure that working hours don’t clash or maybe that one parent works while the other is home based to care for the foster child or children.
I AM RENTING, AM I STILL ABLE TO FOSTER?
Yes, it does not matter if you are renting or own your home, this will not affect your application to become a foster carer. As long as you have a spare room in your home dedicated to accommodating foster children owner status is not a problem.
I HAVE TENANTS / LODGERS. CAN I FOSTER?
You can still consider a career in foster care. However, you will not be able to continue to have a tenant or lodger in the property. Foster carers receive the fostering allowance if they have a child or young person in placement. Please see ‘Fostering allowance’ for further information.
WILL MY RACE OR RELIGION BE AN ISSUE?
No, diversity is very important as the foster children come from a variety of backgrounds. People of all races and faiths are needed to foster children.
DO I NEED ANY QUALIFICATIONS?
There are no special qualifications needed to become a foster carer, as any parent will tell you, children do not come with a manual. What you do need is a positive attitude, patience and understanding along with time and plenty of energy to devote to your foster children. This is a job like no other and the most important qualifications you can hold are people skills and empathy. A love of children is, of course, essential and the ability not to take things personally.
I’M OLD! I WANT TO FOSTER, HOW DO I APPLY?
Once you have decided to become a foster parent, the first step would be to contact your local authority or the fostering agency you will have an initial chat with the application manager who will run through the process and answer any questions and address any concerns that you may have. The next stage would be for an assessor to visit you at home and get to know a little bit about you and find out more about your reasons for wanting to foster, they will also assess the suitability of your home. You will be given the opportunity to ask any questions and to address anything that you are unsure about. After this visit with you still wanting to go ahead and become a foster parent, you will be asked to fill in the official paperwork and this is where the serious application process begins.
WHAT CAN I EXPECT ONCE I HAVE APPLIED TO BECOME A FOSTER PARENT?
Once you have submitted your application form and this has been accepted a Form F assessment will be completed on the fostering household. Paying particular attention to the skills, experience and knowledge of the applicants who want to become foster carers. Once this is completed, the Form F assessment is presented at the panel who will recommend the applicants’ suitability to foster to the Agency Decision Maker, who makes the final decision. Please see our guide to foster for more information.
HOW LONG DOES THIS TAKE?
We do our best to process all applications as quickly as possible, usually in six months but more often between three to four months.
IF I AM APPROVED, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Once you are approved, you will be added to the list of available foster carers that the placement team will use to match and place a child in your care. Once a suitable child is matched with yourself, you will be allocated a Supervising Social Worker who will undertake an induction to ensure you have a thorough understanding of the fostering task in preparation for your first placement.
WILL I RECEIVE ANY TRAINING?
Yes, once you have been approved as a foster carer you will receive initial training and you will be given regular training sessions throughout the year. These will be a mix of new subjects and refresher courses. You will also be given the opportunity to gain an NVQ 2, 3 and 4
Sunbeam Fostering Agency is one of the largest independent fostering agencies in the UK. We welcome foster carers from a diverse range of backgrounds and all ages.

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