Becoming a foster carer

Becoming a foster carer and looking after other people's children is a huge responsibility, governed by national standards and regulations.

Want to foster?

Take a few minutes to complete our online form and we'll get back to you.

You can read our Children's Services privacy notice to see how we use and protect any information we collect.

The assessment process is thorough and can take up to 6 months to complete.

You'll be allocated your own social worker for the duration of the assessment.

We use a competency-based approach for our assessment so we can match your skills and experience to the needs of the children who are waiting to be placed with carers.

We value all your applications. However, assessments are allocated to social workers based upon the type of fostering you have indicated you want to do and which children are currently waiting for a placement.

Priority has to be given to prospective carers who are able to care for the types of children that we currently have a pressing need to find placements for.