Fostering

What does a foster carer do?

Foster carers look after children and young people in need, providing their day to day care. This involves working in partnership with social workers, parents and other people involved in a child’s life.

A large part of  the job is to help a child maintain contact with their parent/s, wider family and friends.

Moving to a foster home is usually an unsettling experience. Foster carers need to help children settle in by listening and talking with them. Children need understanding and a secure environment to help them realise why they are living away from home. Sometimes the experiences children have had can lead them to behave in a challenging way. For example, they may be angry, aggressive or withdrawn.

Fostering can be demanding, but it is also rewarding, fun and enjoyable. It is an experience that can make a positive contribution to a child’s and a foster carer’s life.

Some children and young people need the stability that foster carers can offer, which can help children to maintain their self-esteem. This is greatly helped when children can live with families from the same racial, religious and cultural background as themselves. It is also important that children who do not have English as a first language are able to live with families who speak the child’s first language. Therefore we need and welcome carers from all communities to help a variety of children in need.

So, as a foster carer you will need to:

• be able to provide a good standard of care for other people's children. This will involve promoting their health, education and leisure interests
• be able to listen and communicate with children in a way that is appropriate for their age and understanding
• be able to help the child keep in contact with their friends and family as appropriate
• be able to set appropriate boundaries and manage children's behaviour without the use of physical punishment or other unreasonable behaviour
• ensure that the child is cared for in an environment where they are safe from harm and abuse
• work as part of a team with the child's social worker, teacher and other professionals.