The process

Choosing the right fostering service for you is the first step to becoming an approved foster carer. The assessment and approval process will take around six months. 

When you contact our fostering team, we will take an initial enquiry over the telephone. We will:  

• Ask you for some basic information about you. 
• Tell you all about fostering for us.  
• Answer any questions you may have. 

If we are both happy to proceed, we will then arrange an initial visit to your home. We will come to your home and discuss fostering.  We will chat to you about your experiences with children. This gives us a better understanding about your skills and experience with children. We will also have a look at the room that you will be using for fostering. 

If we are all in agreement for you to proceed then, congratulations!  We will then invite you to our 2 day ‘Skills For Fostering’ course. This will prepare you for life as a foster carer. It will give you a chance to meet some of your fellow peers and people from our fostering community. We will send you an application form and assign a social worker to complete your assessment. 

A full report will be submitted to our fostering panel. They will consider your suitability to foster. The panel will make a recommendation about your approval to the fostering service. 

On average, the journey to approval can take around six months from your first enquiry. This is the amount of time it takes:  

• For a fostering service to make sure you are suitable. 
• To find out what fostering is going to look like for you and your family.  
• To prepare you as best as possible to foster a child in your local community. 

Sometimes a child will be placed with you as soon as you are approved. For others, it can take a while for a child to arrive. It is important that you are the right foster carer to look after a particular child or children. Making a good match for everyone is essential. 

As a foster carer, you will get support and supervision from your fostering service. You will also have the opportunity for ongoing learning and development. The fostering service will review your approval to foster every year.