Become a foster carer
The process
Get in touch!
If you feel you could be the right person to transform a child’s life and want to know more, contact Local Community Fostering on 020 8496 3437 or via the short enquiry form. We’ll have a brief chat on the phone so you can ask any questions and find out whether you could apply to be a foster carer.
Let’s meet
Your local council will visit you at home and talk with you in more detail about fostering.
The assessment and helping you prepare for fostering
Now you are ready for the formal fostering assessment, which usually takes three to six months. You’ll spend time with a social worker, working through detailed questions about your life from birth to now. Many applicants find this a challenging but rewarding experience. Your local council will do a range of checks to make sure you and your household are suitable to foster.
You’ll be invited to a ‘Skills to Foster’ course, which covers all aspects of fostering and is a great opportunity to prepare yourself for welcoming a child into your home.
The fostering panel
Now your completed application goes to a group of fostering, educational and care professionals, known as a Fostering Panel. The panel will discuss your application and ask you to come and join them along with your assessing social worker. The panel will be likely to ask you and your assessing social worker some questions if there are things that they need to clarify after reading your application. However, there shouldn’t be a lot of questions and they are there to clarify issues, not to interview you. Having concluded its discussions, the Panel will either recommend your approval as a foster carer, defer making a recommendation as they need additional information or recommend not to approve.
If you are approved – congratulations! You are a Foster Carer and ready to welcome children into your home. Get your warm welcome ready and start preparing to change a child’s life.
Transferring
Your local council will be delighted to welcome you if you are an experienced foster carer thinking of transferring from another fostering service. The process is very straightforward, whether you are looking to transfer from another local council or a private agency.
In many cases, you can be can fast-tracked because you have an existing Fostering Assessment.
To find out about how your Council supports foster carers, click the logos below
We’re the choice for people from all backgrounds—single, coupled up, LGBTQ+, renting, or owning—who want to open their hearts and homes to local children and become part of a loved local community.
Fill out this short form and one of our team will reach out for an open and honest chat. Or feel free to call us on 020 8496 3437 or email hello@localcommunityfostering.co.uk.
You’re more ready than you think.