How to become a foster carer

Make an enquiry with your local authority fostering service (or Health and social services trust in Northern Ireland) or an independent fostering agency. You can make a number of enquiries to receive information about each one, and even have visits from social workers to find out more, so that you can make an informed decision about where to apply.

Home for Good works with a range of local authorities and IFAs on our Pathway to Fostering and we would love to connect you with those in your area. Find out more.

Please note: some independent fostering agencies are run as not-for-profit charities and some are private companies. Home for Good will only partner with not-for-profit independent fostering agencies.

Complete the application form required by your chosen fostering service. Application forms are usually quite in-depth and will require a range of information about you and your family, and you will also need to provide details of three or four people who are willing to act as references for you.

The fostering service will take up your references and will also run additional checks, such as a DBS (police) check and an employment check. They may also need to take up additional references from previous employers if you have ever worked with children. You will need to have a medical, probably with your own GP, and you will take part in initial training, usually the 'Skills to foster' course.

All of these checks and references are a legal requirement and need to be completed before you can begin the assessment.

Following the checks, references and training, the assessment will continue with a number of home visits from a social worker where you will discuss a wide variety of subjects. They may also want to talk to other close members of your family, including any birth children you have, if this is age-appropriate.

The purpose of these conversations is to establish your suitability to care for vulnerable children, to consider your strengths and weaknesses, identify any training needs, explore your support network, and to ensure you have the emotional and practical capacity to be a foster carer. All of this information will be compiled into a report by your assessing social worker.

Your report will be presented to the fostering panel, as well as a group of professionals from healthcare and social work backgrounds and independent people who have experience of fostering or the care system. The panel members will read your report in full before they meet to discuss it, and you will be invited to attend the panel with your assessing social worker.

The panel will decide whether to recommend you for approval as a foster carer, and this recommendation is then passed to the agency decision maker, who makes the final decision.