About fostering

What is fostering?

Fostering is providing a safe, stable and nurturing home for a child who cannot live with their own family right now. Sometimes children go back home once things improve. Sometimes they stay for many years. At its heart, fostering is security during uncertainty.

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Why do children need fostering?

Children come into care for many reasons: neglect, domestic abuse, a parent’s illness, substance misuse, family breakdown, bereavement, or times when parents simply cannot cope. The decision to move a child from their home is never taken lightly, and safety comes first at every step.

When children arrive, what they need is stability, reassurance and adults who stay calm and consistent.

What does a foster carer do?

The everyday things any parent does: meals, homework, the school run, appointments, giving medicine, hobbies, reassurance. Alongside that, carers work with social workers, schools, health professionals and, where appropriate, the child’s own family. There is more on the record-keeping side in what do foster carers have to write down?

Foster carers are trained, supported professionals, not volunteers.

What types of fostering are there?

Short-term

Care while assessments or court proceedings take place.

Long-term

For children who cannot go home and need ongoing stability. More in long-term fostering.

Emergency

Short-notice care, sometimes the same day. More in emergency fostering.

Short breaks

Respite for other foster families. More in short breaks explained.

Parent and child

Supporting a parent and baby together while assessments are completed. More in parent and child fostering.

Fostering vs adoption

Fostering is usually temporary and the local authority keeps parental responsibility. Adoption is a permanent legal transfer. Different frameworks, different purposes.

Who can become a foster carer?

Many people rule themselves out far too quickly. You can foster if you are over 21, emotionally resilient, and have a stable home, rented or owned. You do not need to be married, have children of your own, or hold childcare qualifications.

What if you don't have a spare room?

It depends on the child’s age. A baby under two can sleep in a cot in your room, so a spare bedroom is not always essential. It is worth asking even if you haven’t got one. More in can you foster a baby without a spare room?

One practical thing: much of our area is rural, so carers offering a home to a baby usually need to drive. In a town with good transport, that matters far less. Every household is different. Ask us and we will tell you honestly whether it works.

Do foster carers get paid?

Child aged 0 to 10

£479.50

a week

Young person aged 11+

£507.50

a week

Parent and child

£987

a week

Yes. Paid weekly, per child, while a child lives with you, plus a monthly council tax contribution. Fostering is not about making money, but financial stability means you can focus on the child. The full breakdown is in how much do you get paid to foster?

Is fostering difficult?

It can be emotionally demanding. Children arriving in care may have been through trauma, and behaviour can reflect anxiety or fear. With structure, clear boundaries and emotional consistency, most children settle and thrive. And you are never expected to manage alone. Safer caring is one of the first things we work on together: more in safer caring.

What do children in care really need?

Stability. Routine. Safety. Encouragement. Someone who stays. They also need to understand their own story. That is where life story work comes in. And time to learn to trust: more in learning to trust.

You don’t need to be extraordinary. You need to be steady.

Where is foster care needed most?

Across the East of England, the Home Counties and the Midlands there is ongoing demand. In particular for carers for teenagers, carers who can keep brothers and sisters together, long-term carers, and carers for children aged 8 and over.

How do you become a foster carer?

The process usually takes four to six months: enquiry, home visit, checks, training, Form F assessment, then a fostering panel says yes. Thorough, but supportive. The full picture is in what is the application process like?

Every foster carer started with a conversation.

Right now, somewhere in your region, a child needs stability. You don’t need to decide today. You just need to begin.