More about fostering

What is fostering?

When you foster, you provide care for a local child or young person in your family home during periods when they cannot live with their own family. This can be for a variety of reasons, but whatever their situation, they need you to provide them with love, stability, and a safe home environment in which they can thrive.

Watch our children in care describe what they believe makes an ideal foster carer.

Which children need foster care

We urgently need to hear from people who can provide loving foster homes for:

• Children aged 11 and above
• Brothers and sisters
• Children with complex needs and disabilities

What foster carers do

Our children and young people are at the heart of everything that we do, and this means that all decisions are made in the best interest of the child. As a foster carer, your role is to offer a safe, respectful, and caring home environment so that local children can thrive as part of a family. We will help you to support a child or young person's health, education and development by encouraging you to:

• Attend ongoing training, delivered to you locally, to develop your fostering skills
• Keep records up to date about your foster child’s progress
• Attend local fostering support groups to share experiences and advice with other foster carers in your area
• Help your foster child develop their self-esteem and confidence