About fostering
Fostering is a lifeline for vulnerable children and young people who are unable to live with their birth families. It means welcoming a child into your home and providing them with a safe, loving, and nurturing environment when they need it most.
Why do children need foster care?
There are various reasons why a child may need foster care, with the most common being that they have faced abuse or neglect. Other reasons include having parents who are unwell or unable to cope, while others arrive in the UK alone as asylum seekers. Foster care aims to provide children with a safe and stable home until they can return to their birth families; however, this can take time and is not always possible.
Each year, over 3,000 children enter foster in Scotland. Many of these children have had challenging past experiences that take a toll on their emotions and make it difficult for them to trust adults. Although, as a foster carer, you won’t have legal guardianship, you’ll offer guidance, encouragement, and a nurturing foundation that will make a real difference in their lives.
Become part of a supportive community
Fostering is both a challenging and rewarding vocation, but don’t worry, you won’t do it alone. At Fosterplus Scotland, you’ll become part of a community of fostering professionals dedicated to keeping the promise and transforming young lives. We offer 24/7 support and foster care training that will equip you with the knowledge and skills to provide children with the care they need.
You’ll also be able to choose the type of fostering that best suits your family’s circumstances. Whether that be emergency care, long-term arrangements, or specialised support for children with disabilities, we’ll collaborate with you to find the best fit.
How fostering works
When a child is identified as ‘at risk,’ local authorities take steps to ensure their safety. A social worker will conduct an assessment before creating a care plan, which often includes finding a suitable foster home.
The local authority will send us the referral, and this is when the foster care matching process begins. We are proud to be leaders in the matching process. Our dedicated and experienced referral team pay great attention to detail to ensure we find the best match between each child and a foster family.
As an independent fostering agency, our work is entirely devoted to fostering. We provide expert training and continuous support to our foster carers, enabling you to make a real difference in children’s lives. Having worked closely with local authorities for years, we are trusted to provide high-quality care and positive outcomes for vulnerable children.
What is the role of a foster carer?
The primary role of a foster carer is to offer a secure, caring, and stable home. Beyond that, you’ll play an active role in a child’s daily life by ensuring they attend school, supporting their education, and teaching essential life skills. You’ll also encourage them to participate in activities that help them make new positive memories, such as days out or holidays.
You’ll provide emotional support by helping children develop confidence, a sense of identity, and trust in others, alongside facilitating contact with birth families. Every foster carer keeps records of the child’s progress to ensure they receive the best possible care.
What’s the difference between fostering and adoption?
You may wonder how fostering differs from adoption. While both involve caring for a child who is unable to live with their birth family, there are some key differences, including:
- Legal responsibility – When you foster, the birth parents or local authority retain legal responsibility for the child. With adoption, the adoptive parents have full legal responsibility.
- Duration of care – Foster care can be temporary, from a few days to several years. Some children live with their foster carers until they’re 18, and if a continuing care arrangement is established, they could stay until they’re 21. Adoption is permanent, making the child a legal member of the adoptive family.
- Age of children – Adoption is generally sought for younger children (under six), while fostering usually involves older children or sibling groups.
- Financial support – Foster carers receive a weekly fostering allowance to cover the costs of looking after a child, along with a professional fee. Adoptive parents do not receive this financial package.
Who can foster?
We welcome people from any background, culture, religion, marital status or sexual orientation. You don’t need qualifications, or even experience – although it’s beneficial. The only initial requirements are that you’re over 21, have the legal right to work in the UK and have a spare room.
Allowance calculator
With Fosterplus, you’ll benefit from an attractive fostering payment for when a child is in your care, together with other benefits and rewards. As well as helping with the costs of caring for a child, this package also rewards your professionalism and hard work.
Why choose us?
We’re focused on finding stable, loving homes that give young people a sense of continuity. Everything we do is geared towards this idea of continuity, and it’s something that our foster parents experience too – with stable teams and consistent support and training.
Frequently asked questions
What is fostering?
Fostering means providing a safe, stable, and nurturing home for a child or young person who, for various reasons, can’t live with their birth family.
Every child’s situation is unique, so we offer different types of fostering placements. These can range from a few days to several years, depending on the child’s circumstances.
How do you become a foster carer?
There are a few steps to becoming a foster carer – the first is a friendly chat with one of our advisors. Use our online form to send an enquiry or call us on 0800 369 8512. We’ll discuss fostering in more detail, answer any questions you may have, and note a few details.
When you’re ready to move forward, you’ll complete a standard application and assessment process to become an approved foster carer. This includes home visits, background checks, references, training, and attending a fostering panel. We run through each step in more detail below.
Can I foster if I’m single?
Yes! Our single foster carers are changing lives every day. They are also crucial for children who, due to their past experiences, are unable to live with a particular gender.
Can I still work if I foster?
Yes, many foster carers work alongside fostering. However, foster carers have commitments, such as taking children to meetings and appointments, dropping them off and collecting them from school, and facilitating family time. You’ll also need to be available to attend training, so flexibility is needed.
We usually recommend that one foster carer is available full-time, though part-time or flexible work may be possible, depending on the child’s needs.
Do foster carers receive an allowance?
Yes, foster carers receive a generous fostering allowance split into two parts when caring for a child.
- Child allowance – This ensures you can cover the costs of caring for a child, such as groceries, clothing, and activities.
- Foster carer fee – This recognises and rewards you for your life-changing work.
You’ll also benefit from a range of additional perks, including:
- Access to our exclusive foster carer rewards platform, where you can take advantage of incredible discounts on everything from your weekly shop and toiletries to holidays, days out, and more.
- Additional payments to spend on celebrating birthdays and religious festivals with the child in your care.
- Holiday allowance for each child in your care.
- Mileage allowance.
- A refer-a-friend scheme where you can receive up to £3000 for every friend you successfully recommend to Fosterplus Scotland.
You can find out more by downloading our Guide to Finances and Fostering.
Speak to our team
Ready to take your first step into fostering? We’re here to support you on your journey…
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