Making the decision to become a foster carer often takes some time because it is a decision that will change your life!

It is perfectly normal to have some doubts and questions and please look at our FAQ page if you can’t find what you need here.

When you first contact a fostering agency, they will probably ask you some initial questions about you and your family, including whether you have a spare bedroom, who is living in your household, what sort of related experience you might have that could help in the fostering role and whether you have committed any offences or think there might be any other information about you that would immediately stop you from applying.

You will then have the opportunity to arrange a meeting in your home, where you can discuss your interest in a bit more detail and get more information about the process and what is involved. After this meeting, you will be invited to apply to become foster carers, if you are still interested, and to attend some training groups to help prepare you.

The training groups are designed to help you think more about whether fostering is right for you and your family, and they also give you the chance to meet other people at the same stage of thinking, as well as give some practical tips and information to help you in the fostering task.

Once you have made your application to become a foster carer, you will be assigned a social worker who will work with you to properly assess your suitability. Your assessment will include:

– A number of visits to your home by your assessing social worker‐usually around 8‐10 in total
– Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for all adults in the household
– Local authority checks and other background checks, including personal and professional referees
– A health and safety assessment of your home
– A medical report by your GP
– Individual meetings with your own children to make sure that their views are heard and taken into account
– Making a Welcome Book for children who might come to live with you
– Starting on a personal portfolio to achieve the Training, Support and Developments Standards for Foster Care.

This may sound like a daunting list but your assessing social worker will support you every step of the way. Most assessments are completed in 4‐5 months and although this might seem like a long time, it does give you and your family a chance to prepare properly.

Once your assessment is finished, a report called a “Form F” is completed, which contains your life history! The report specifically details what you have to offer as foster carers and the strengths that you have as well as areas that you might need to develop as you go forward in your fostering career.

The report is signed by you, so you have the opportunity to ensure that it is factually correct and that you are happy with the content. It is then presented by the social worker to the fostering panel, and you are also invited to attend.

The fostering panel is made up of people with different backgrounds, for example people who have been in foster care themselves, a current foster carer, social workers, and people with educational and health backgrounds.

The panel then consider your application to foster and will make a recommendation to the Agency Decision Maker for Aspirations Fostering.

If your application is successful, the hard work really begins!

Aspirations Fostering works with local authorities in your area to identify children who are in need and who may fit well into your family.

You always have the right to say no if you feel uncomfortable with any possible placement of a child and Aspirations Fostering will support you in whatever decision is best for you and your family.