Fostering

What is fostering?

Fostering is a way of helping children and young people who for some reason or another can not stay with their family. Foster carers provide care to children in their home and work as a member of a team which helps to support children and their families.

Why do children need to be fostered?

There are many reasons why children need looking after by foster carers. Some families may be experiencing breakdown, ill health, or relationship difficulties, some children may also have been abused or neglected and need to be somewhere where they can be kept safe. We do our best to keep families together, but when this is not possible we need carers to help support children and young people through these difficult times.

Who can become a foster carer?

• We welcome carers from all cultural, religious and social backgrounds.
• Carers can be single, married or living with someone, straight or gay.
• It is not necessary to have your own children, but it is often helpful if you have some experience of children.
• To become a foster carer you must live in, or within easy commute of the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames.
• You will need to have enough room in your home to accommodate a child or young person.
• You also need to have sufficient time to foster, being mindful that carers may need to attend meetings in the day or care for a child if they are not at school.
• Carers must be willing to undergo an assessment, which will involve checks and references.
• So if you think you can fit the bill and have the energy, resilience, flexibility and patience we would love to hear from you.

What types of fostering are there?

See our page on the different types of fostering.

Will I get paid to for looking after a child?

All foster carers are paid an allowance to cover the cost of looking after a child and a young person.

Carers receive a weekly allowance of:

• £258.72 for each child under 13 years of age.
• £322.84 for each young person above the age of 13.

We also provide extra allowances for holidays.

As a foster carer, what kind of support will I get?

To help support you in your role as a carer we offer:

• Regular supervision visits from a social worker
• Comprehensive training programme offered throughout the year
• Opportunities to undertake the NVQ
• Membership of the Fostering Network
• Independent Foster Carers Association
• Out of hours social work support
• Annual foster carer events
• A foster carer forum
• Foster carer buddy scheme

Contact the Fostering Team

If you are interested in finding out more about fostering, please contact the Fostering Team.

Telephone: 0800 085 7072, or
Email fostering.info@richmond.gov.uk, or
Complete an online enquiry form.

We can answer any questions that you might have.

It could be the first step towards a rewarding career as a foster carer.