What are the different types of Fostering?

We offer a range of different types of fostering placements to suit children's particular needs. This can be anything from emergency placements to parent and child placements. No two children are the same, so require individual, tailored care with some only requiring care for a couple of nights and others needing a more permanent environment.

If you're considering becoming a Foster Parent but you're unsure which type of Fostering is for you, contact us here to speak to our experienced team for more information and advice.

Emergency

This type of Fostering is required at short notice and is unplanned and usually made within 24 hours of it being requested, for an example a single parent may have fallen ill and the child is left without adequate care. Emergency Foster Parents should be prepared to look after a child or young person for a short period of time (sometimes just a couple of days) and be able to take them in at any time of the day or night. Emergency arrangements tend not exceed two weeks in length.

Short-term Fostering

Short-term Fostering typically refers to an arrangement which exceeds no more than 12 months but can mean anything from an overnight stay to several months and is used as a temporary measure until a more permanent, longer-term fostering solution or adoption agreement can be made.

Long-term Fostering

In certain circumstances a child or young person may not be able to return to their family’s home for a number of years, if at all. Long-term Fostering means that children will require a Foster family where they can feel secure for a long period time, sometimes a number of years or even through to adulthood.

Parent & Child Fostering

This specialist type of Fostering is designed for young or vulnerable parents who require additional support in caring for their own child and may need more intensive guidance to learn how to be the best parent that they can be.

Foster Parents are required to mentor and nurture these parents and their children to ensure that the child is cared for adequately. Foster Parents do not necessarily care for the child directly but will help the young person develop through parenthood.

Sibling Fostering

This type of Fostering sees a Foster Parents care for brothers and sisters from a family to ensure they stay together throughout care. Contact with siblings is extremely important for the children or young person, meaning they can share experiences and support one another throughout challenging times. We always try to keep siblings together where we can and find that these children and more likely to settle and progress if they are kept with their brothers and/or sisters. We are often asked to find homes for siblings so are always on the look out for Foster families with multiple bedrooms, in order to offer this type of Fostering.

Fostering children with disabilities or complex needs

Disabled children often require extra specialised care meaning that their Foster Parents need to be experienced in more complex care. Children may have physical, learning or sensory disabilities, special educational needs or present on the Autistic spectrum. If you have your own child with similar complex needs or have cared for a child with similar needs you could already possess many of the skills needed to make an excellent specialist Foster Parent.  

Fostering sanctuary-seeking children

Some of the children who are referred to us are those who are seeking asylum having been separated from their families after a traumatic experience and often speaking little to no English. These children can often be frightened and find the experience extremely overwhelming but it is down to you to provide them with a secure home and help them adjust to a new country and feel safe and secure whilst they apply for refugee status. We’ll ensure you know how to deal with these children, understand their background and teach you how to meet their needs.

Remand

This type of Fostering requires Foster Parents to look after a child or young person who is remanded by the courts into public care rather than to the custody of a young offenders unit if they have been charged with an offence but are awaiting trial. These placements are usually short term and require Foster Parents to work closely with the young justice/offending teams to gain the best outcome for them.