Can I foster?

We are looking for people who want to make a difference to the lives of children and young people who are unable to live with their birth family.

As a foster carer, you will form strong relationships with the child’s network of social workers, health professionals, teachers, parents and family members.

Giving a child a loving and stable home is both rewarding and challenging. But we’ll work together as a team, to ensure every child’s life chances and achievements are the best they can be.

All you need is:

• a safe and comfortable home with at least one spare bedroom (babies under 3 can share a bedroom with you)
• a genuine passion for wanting to make a difference to young people’s lives
• patience, empathy, and enthusiasm
• the ability to support our children through the good, the difficult and sometimes the challenging moments they may face on their journey
• have the legal right to live and work in the UK
• be at least 21 years old (there’s no upper age limit)

To foster you can be:

• single, divorced, married, in a civil partnership or any other relationship status
• LGBTQ+
• any religion or cultural background
• a parent with your own children
• renting privately, living in a council or housing association property, or owning your home
• working, but with the flexibility and availability to meet the child’s needs

You'll get a support package including allowance for the child, training, and regular professional support.

Let’s make a difference together!

Not sure fostering is for you?

Supported Lodgings

If you’re not ready to foster, why don’t you consider becoming a supported lodgings host and welcome a young person into your home. You can provide emotional support and help them acquire practical life skills that supports them to become independent, confident young adults.  

Find out more about supported lodgings and how to become a host.

Fostering or adoption?

Adoption is a permanent, legal process where the adoptive parents gain full parental rights and responsibilities for a child. Unlike fostering, which is often temporary and involves allowances to support the child’s needs, adoption transfers all legal rights from the birth parents or local authority to the adoptive parents without ongoing financial support. 

Find out more about adoption