Getting started
If you would like to find out more about becoming a foster carer, get in touch and we'll send you an information pack.
You can also come and see us at our fostering recruitment stand.
The pack includes a visit request form to complete. Once we receive the completed form, a social worker will be in touch to discuss your interest further. If you're still keen to foster, they will then make an appointment for an introductory visit.
Making your application
If you decide to apply to become a foster carer, you will complete various forms and be asked to give your consent for checks to be undertaken including the following:
We will also contact your GP to confirm your health records and ask you to provide the names of two personal referees whom we can contact. In addition to this, we will contact any significant previous partners and children living independently from you to form a picture of your parenting skills as part of the assessment.
A supervising social worker will then visit you on several occasions to get to know you and to gather information to enable them to prepare an assessment report. They will need to talk to everyone living with you and any children of your own who no longer live with you. Together, you will decide what type of fostering is best for you and your family and what age range you would like to foster.
Provided there are no concerns, you will be invited to attend our foundation training course to help you to learn more about fostering. It will also give you the opportunity to meet both experienced foster carers and other people who are interested in fostering.
Your assessment reports will then be presented to a fostering panel where the decision about your approval will be made. You will be invited to attend the panel with your supervising social worker if you wish. The panel will let you know if you have been approved and you will then receive a certificate and a foster carer's welcome pack.
