What is fostering

Fostering is a way to offer children and young people a safe, nurturing home while their own parents are unable to look after them. This is often a short-term arrangement lasting a few weeks, but can sometimes be in place for a longer term.

We aim to return children to their parents or birth families as soon as possible. If this is not possible, foster carers would continue to care for the child until long-term plans are made. This may include adoption or a permanent fostering placement – sometimes children remain with the original foster carer.

Short-term foster care

If a child is unable to remain with their own family, they will need to be looked after. We work with short-term foster carers to enable the child to return to their birth family, or to settle them with either a long-term foster family or adoptive family.

Short-term foster care can last from a few days to several months, occasionally longer. If a child has spent a long time with a short-term foster care family and is unable to return to their birth family, carers may want to care for the child permanently.

We arrange short-term foster care for children of all ages. If a group of siblings need looked after, we try our best to keep the group together in foster care.

Long-term foster care

If a child is already accommodated and can't return to their birth family, or if adoption isn't an option, we would look for a long-term foster carer. Children who need long-term foster care vary in age. However, most permanent foster placements are children over age 8 and tend to be in regular contact with their birth families.

Short break foster care

Short break fostering describes a few kinds of part-time care, ranging from every weekend to once a month. The reason for this could be:

• families who do not have a strong support system, but can continue to bring up their own child if they know they can have a regular break once or twice a month
• existing foster carers who require breaks (for instance a family wedding), or regular planned breaks, such as a week away with their own children during school holidays

Short break carers may also look after a child with significant disabilities, to have new experiences whilst their family have a break from their caring role.

We provide full and ongoing training and support to carers to make sure they are confident in supporting the child with their disability. Usually, we match carers for children with disabilities with one or two families to provide once a month care over a weekend. We try to make sure that this arrangement is consistent. This lets the carer, the family and the child build good relationships.

Enhanced foster care

Children who need enhanced foster care are usually older. They may have experienced varying degrees of neglect, abuse and disruption. It’s likely some of the children may have lived in residential care. As a result, they can sometimes have a higher level of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. These children need carers who can manage challenging behaviour and who can provide a safe home environment with security, clear boundaries, advice and guidance.

If a child under school leaving age is being looked after for more than 28 days by someone who is not a parent, guardian, close relative or approved foster carer, the Council's Social Work service must be informed as this would be considered a private fostering arrangement.