The basic requirements you need to meet to be eligible to foster with us are:

• You are aged 21 or over
• You have a spare bedroom available in your home
• You have the time and energy to devote to a child or young person
• You enjoy the company of children and young people and care about their welfare

You will need to be patient, nurturing, and non-judgemental. You will need to have good communication skills, especially listening and be open and honest. Most importantly, you will need to be resilient, kind, compassionate, have a good sense of humour and be able to ride the highs and the lows.

If you have these qualities, fostering might be for you.

Who Can Foster?

We welcome enquiries from people of all backgrounds and from all walks of life.

You can apply to foster with us:

• Whatever your marital status, sexual orientation or gender
• Whatever your religious, cultural or ethnic background
• If you have a disability or medical condition – provided it is stable and does not affect your ability to care for a child or young person
• Whether you already have children of your own or not
• Whether or not you work – there are different types of foster care to suit a wide range of employment circumstances
• If you are retired – provided you have plenty of energy to help children or young people for a reasonable period into the future
• If you have pets – pets can be a great benefit and we will assess them as part of your application process

Issues to consider:

• If you smoke then we will not place any children under the age of five years and no smoking takes place in the home
• You do not have a police record for violence or sexual offences 
• You attend regular training courses designed to help Foster Carers in the important work that they do both before and after approval
• You are available to meet with all the people involved in the child or young person’s life
• You must have a spare bedroom

Skills and abilities

As a Foster Carer you will need to:

• Be able to provide a good standard of care to other people’s children to promote their health, education and leisure interests
• Be able to listen and communicate with children or young people in a way that is appropriate to their age and understanding
• Be willing to learn new skills and attend regular training and support groups
• Be able to help the child or young person keep in contact with their family, friends and local community activities as appropriate
• Be able to put boundaries in place in order to manage behaviour in an effective and positive way
• Have energy and motivation and remain committed to a child or young person through more challenging times
• Be able to work with and understand the role of all the professionals involved in the child or young person’s life

Some questions to ask yourself:

• Do you have patience, understanding and a sense of humour?
• Are you warm and nurturing?
• Are you non-judgemental and anti-discriminatory?
• Are you a resilient person and able to cope through difficult times?
• Can you be flexible and set clear boundaries?
• Are you open to guidance and support?
• How do your children feel about fostering and sharing their home and lives with other children?