What is fostering?

Sometimes a child or young person is unable to live with their birth family and as a result, they need an alternative.

By choosing to be a foster carer, you can provide a child or children with a home for a few weeks, months or even years. Foster carers provide much needed stability. An incredibly rewarding role, you help keep a child connected to their family, school, and friends.

Fostering involves providing a child with a home, care, love, understanding, attention, and guidance. Yes, it can be a little bumpy at times, but the highs far outweigh the lows as you make a lasting difference to a child’s life.

Our community of foster carers come from all backgrounds with a wide range of work and life experiences. There’s one thing that they all share though, and that’s the longing to make a difference.

Giving you the support you need

As a foster carer with Blackpool Council, you will never be alone as a supervising social worker will be there to guide you. You will also receive full training and support from our experienced team who will be with you every step of the way.

Types of foster care

As a foster carer, you could care for children and young people across a wide age range. This could be for several nights or years. Foster carers tend to provide one of two types of foster care – either short-term or long-term fostering.

Short-term fostering

Each child’s situation is different, but most are cared for by a foster carer whilst plans are made for their future. As a short-term foster carer, you will care for lots of different children over time. This care could be for a couple of days or for a few weeks or months.

Long-term fostering

Many children who are fostered will be reunited with their birth family. However, for some this is not possible and long-term foster care is assessed to be the best option. Many children who need a long-term foster home form a strong bond with their foster carers as they journey into young adulthood.

Many will go on to celebrate their 18th birthday with their foster family and reach many milestones along the way.

Other types of fostering

Connected carers

This is where a child goes to live with someone they already know. This could be a family member such as a grandparent, an aunty or uncle, or a sibling who takes on the role as a connected carer

Parent and child fostering

Some parents need support caring for their child (usually a baby). As a foster carer, your role is to support the parent to develop the skills they need to care for their child. This type of fostering is often offered to young parents who are struggling, making it a nurturing and supportive role. Find out more. 

Fostering siblings

For children whose lives are turned upside down, staying with their brother or sister can be vital. By fostering siblings together, a foster carer can give them a sense of belonging and stability and the opportunity to grow up together. Find out more.

Step down fostering

This type of fostering is when a foster carer helps a child move from a residential children’s home to a stable and supportive foster home. Living with a foster family can often make a huge improvement to a child’s life.

Children with additional needs

This involves caring for a child with physical disabilities, medical conditions or learning difficulties. This type of foster care may be of particular interest to people who are in the health, social, education or youth professions, or new and existing foster carers interested in developing new skills.

Remand fostering 

Young people can end up in the criminal justice system and need to be placed in foster care while waiting for their court date. As a remand foster carer, this is an opportunity to understand a young person whose life is particularly challenging, and that they need that safe space to reflect and be supported.

Want to know more?

There are many children and young people waiting for a foster home – somewhere they can feel supported and cared for. As any of our foster carers will tell you, fostering is more than just a job. It offers a new way of life – one filled with excitement and great personal satisfaction.

We would love to hear from you, contact us.