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Fostering in East Hampshire

Become a foster carer in East Hampshire with Sunbeam Fostering Agency

Do you live in East Hampshire? And looking for a local fostering agency with whom you want to become a foster carer? Sunbeam Fostering Agency is one of the largest in the UK. We offer up to £700 per child per week with local staff at hand in East Hampshire

We welcome foster carers from a diverse range of backgrounds and all ages.

Sunbeam Fostering Agency is one of the UK’s largest and most progressive independent fostering agencies, we have registered offices in Langley, Luton, Coventry and resource centres in Portsmouth, Northampton, Nottingham, Birmingham, Wembley, Walthamstow and Croydon to make it easier for all our foster carers”

Planning to foster in East Hampshire?

Get a callback from us

    We provide local support in East Hampshire to foster carers

    Sunbeam provides local support for carers in East Hampshire and surrounding areas through our office in Portsmouth. Which means you will have a supervising social worker local to you and available to support you if you need them. Also, we have a support team available on 24/7/365 basis who will help and support you while fostering with us.

    fostering with sunbeam

    Become a Foster Carer with Sunbeam

    At Sunbeam, our first priority is the needs of our foster children and it is extremely important that we are able to provide them with the best match possible. As such, when children are removed from their families and moved to foster families, they go through a lot of trauma. Therefore finding them a close matched family within their area will support them and will have less impact on their lives as they will be able to stay in their local school, be able to see their friends etc.

    This can only be achieved by recruiting foster carers in the local regions. If you are someone who is looking to become a foster carer then complete our call back request and we will progress your application as soon as we can.

    As one of the largest and most progressive independent fostering agencies based in the UK, we provide quality family placements to children in our care and competitive foster care allowances to our carers.

    Frequent Questions

    About becoming a foster carer
    1. Do I need to be married to become a foster parent?
    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.
    2. I work, am I still able to become a foster parent?
    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.
    3. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. 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
    faqs fostering
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. 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.
    11. 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.
    12. 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.

    Our Locations

    Become a Foster Carer

    Take a first step towards fostering, get in touch with our fostering team

      Who can foster?

      You age should be be at least 21 years-old (although by law you can apply to foster from 18) and to have a spare bedroom big enough for a young person to live in.

      Fostering Allowance

      As a foster carer, you will receive fostering allowance which normally covers things like food, clothing, transportation, pocket money, outings etc.

      What foster carers are saying

      This job is probably one of my favourites. Every day is different, every day has new challenges and every day has new rewards. It’s not always easy but each challenge you go through with the child bonds you and makes you both stronger for each other.

      Hannah and Kashif
      Hannah and Kashif

      We have been fostering for the last 8 years and feel proud to be a part of the Sunbeam family. At the beginning, we thought it’s a tough job, but the skills to foster initial training and the whole assessment procedure to become a carer was interesting, and it gave us both a broad insight into both the tough and rewarding side of what we were likely to encounter.

      Asma
      Asma

      “Fostering is a rewarding experience as it allows you to actually make a difference for a child/young person. I feel happy being able to make such a difference whether it is for one day or several years.”

      Karen Thorn
      Karen Thorn

      “When they told me that I had been approved for fostering, well I just cried. I was an emotional wreck and was so happy that I just couldn’t hold back my very, very, happy tears.”

      Sunbeam Staff

      I have grown both professionally and personally at Sunbeam.am very grateful for that, as fostering is my passion, and my job allows me to use my skills whilst doing what I love.

       

      All the staff at sunbeam are friendly and helpful , I truly feel like we are all a family and its nice when we all get together when celebrating foster carers and children’s achievements as it shows off everyone’s hard work.

       

      It’s a great place to work. All the managers are super helpful and are always looking after their team. I have grown a lot at this agency.

       

      Working for Sunbeam has been very fulfilling for me. As I get to work for the community and get a chance to make a difference as child welfare is at the core value of this agency.

      Foster Children

      I have been in placement with my foster carers for 11 years. Sunbeam placed me with foster carers who have always treated me like a family member. Sunbeam has also been very supportive throughout all these years

       

      Fostering changes life, I have experienced this first-hand. My foster carers have been very supportive of me and my siblings. They keep us motivated to do good in our studies and always stay involve.

       

      Sunbeam organises many fun and informative days out for us regularly. We recently went to the University of Cambridge and attended their seminar on ‘Realise’ program for care leavers. I am really thankful to Sunbeam for organising this trip.

      OFSTED

      Children and carers receive practical and therapeutic support from the agency and enjoy regular social occasions to relax, enjoy and celebrate alongside staff and managers.

      “All children make good progress within this agency, in all areas of their lives. They benefit from committed and dedicated foster carers who are effectively trained, and supported to meet the individual needs of children”.

      Staff and foster carers alike referred to the agency as being like a ‘family’ when describing their experiences. The registered manager consults well with carers and staff, incorporating their views when monitoring the quality of care provided to children. The registered manager has good audit systems in place and maintains good oversight of practice.

      “The agency delivers a consistently good quality of care to foster carers and children. Management and staff support carers and children in ways that exceed what they might expect. Foster carers spoke about the flexibility, motivation and wide ranging support they receive from the agency”.

      We love to work with children and are really happy with the support that we are getting from Sunbeam. Our social worker is wonderful, we couldn’t have done it without her.

      We are very happy with the support that we are getting from Sunbeam Fostering. We are provided with many interesting trainings and support group throughout the year which help us immensely.

      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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