There are over 300 children in care in
Peterborough. Many of these children need to stay with foster
families whilst they are unable to live at home. Peterborough, as
well as nationally, is struggling to find enough carers.
Peterborough City Council urgently need more people to come
forward, from all walks of life, so that we can make a difference
to these children’s lives.
Deborah Glassbrook, Peterborough City
Council’s Head of Fostering, said “Foster carers may be ordinary
people but they are doing something that makes them extraordinary.
Every day they are helping children and young people turn their
lives around by fostering. But we urgently need more. This is a
call to action to the people of Peterborough to consider whether
they can provide vulnerable children in our city with a safe and
secure home while they are unable to live with their own families.
If you think you could foster a Peterborough child please contact
us.”
There are common misconceptions about who can become a foster
carer:
You don’t have to ….
- own a large flat or house – as long as you have a spare
room
- stop working
- be a certain age – as long as you are over 21
- be married, be in a civil partnership or have a partner
- be a woman - don’t think being a man on your own rules you
out
- be straight - your sexuality really isn’t that important to
us
- have had your own children
- have children that have left home
- be in perfect health – people with disabilities are
considered
You do have to…
- have a real interest in helping local
children and their families
- be financially secure - you cannot rely on
the fostering allowance as an income as there will be times when
you may not have a child or young person in your care
- have a clean criminal record when it comes to
being legally cleared to work with children.
There is no doubt if you decide to become a foster carer it will
change your life as well as the lives of the children and young
people you bring into your home. If you decide to become a foster
carer you become a childcare professional. You’ll receive free
training and ongoing support, a fee and a weekly allowance per
child that you foster.
There are a lot of reasons why some families
are unable to look after their birth children and many of these
will only apply for a short time. For instance, some children may
come into foster care for a few weeks when their parent has to go
into hospital. In other cases, children might need to be fostered
for much longer while social workers try to resolve problems within
the family.
There are many types of foster care:
- Emergency response - emergency carers provide
a safe home environment at very short notice, from just a few hours
up to 72 hours
- Time limited fostering - ranging from an
overnight stay to a few months
- Long term fostering
- Respite care - foster carers often need a
short break from a couple of days to two weeks
- Part time link care - children with a
disability stay with you for a few hours or a weekend to give their
families a regular break
- Specialist fostering
- Fostering groups of brothers and sisters
- Fostering a mother and a baby
If you are interested in finding out more
about Fostering in Peterborough you can contact the Fostering
Service by telephone on (01733) 317427, email afuduty@peterborough.gov.uk
or visit www.peterborough.gov.uk/fostering
Ends.