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Who Can Foster?

Foster carers can come from all kinds of ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds.

Who can foster?

Lots of different kinds of people foster.

  • You can be single
  • You can be living with a partner
  • You can be married or have a civil partner
  • You can have your own children or step-children
  • You can have no children at all
  • You can own your own home or be renting
  • You can be any age, over 21, as long as your health and well-being allows
  • You can offer short-break fostering at weekends if you are working full-time
  • You can be unemployed
  • You can have been care experienced yourself

What is important is that you must be able to:

  • Be warm, patient, understanding and flexible
  • Be non-judgemental
  • Negotiate and compromise
  • Provide good quality care for children
  • Care for children safely
  • Support children who may have experienced neglect or abuse
  • Cope with children whose behaviour may sometimes be difficult and challenging
  • Understand and work with parents who have been unable to look after their child, harmed their child or failed to protect their child
  • Work as part of a team which includes a child's family, social worker, education and health staff
  • Be willing to learn and develop new skills