Who can foster?

Always talk to us first before you rule yourself out, people are often reluctant to come forward because of their own life experiences and there are very few circumstances that would prevent you from fostering.

Fostering

There is no such thing as a ‘typical’ foster carer. We need carers from a variety of backgrounds to meet the needs of children and young people in our care. You can be:

  • Male or female
  • Any age (there is no upper age limit to foster but you must be over 21)
  • Married, living together or single
  • Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender
  • Employed, unemployed or retired
  • Home owner or tenant
  • Religious or non-religious
  • From any ethnic background
  • Disabled
  • People with children or no children, or grown up children who have left home.

We are looking for people who can provide a secure and loving environment for children and young people.

We seek to have a range of carers who can meet our looked after children and young people’s very different needs. This means you will probably be the sort of person who is flexible, adaptable, resilient, a good communicator and willing to develop new skills.

We particularly need people who can commit to caring for teenagers, sibling groups and young people who require longer-term support. We also need carers who can support children on a shorter-term basis, often in an emergency or at short notice.

We welcome all enquiries, however, as you will appreciate there are expectations and requirements regarding applicants suitability, for example; health, criminal convictions, age. There are some criminal offences which would prevent you from becoming a foster carer, for example sexual offences. However there are many occasions where a criminal conviction would not prevent you from fostering and we would encourage you to discuss this with us before ruling yourself out.

If you have any questions about your circumstances which you feel may affect your suitability to foster, please contact us on 01429 405588.