Foster siblings
Foster parents of siblings provide an important type of placement that allows brothers and sisters to remain together in foster care.
Each year, many sets of siblings – brothers and sisters – enter the foster care system. Sadly, because of a shortage of foster parents who have the energy and space in their homes to care for them, many have to be separated and live with different families.
Why are siblings separated in foster care?
In 2018, a BBC report revealed that some 5,000 children in care were separated from their siblings, potentially leading to anxiety and feelings of isolation and loneliness, which can have damaging long-term effects.
And while local authorities don’t want to separate siblings, they often have little choice. Sometimes the sibling group is too large, with three or more children who enter care making it almost impossible to find suitable homes. While sometimes sibling rivalries make it impossible to keep brothers and sisters together. One of the main reasons, however, is a shortage of foster carers willing to take on this challenge.
Fostering siblings can help make a huge difference, as you can read in Brigitte’s story.
Keeping siblings together in foster care
Going into care is tough, but being separated from the brothers and sisters you know and love can make the experience even tougher.
Siblings have shared experiences, and often a strong sense of attachment, which separation ruptures in two. Their sense of identity is challenged, and they lose a strong element of emotional support when they lose this relationship.
Keeping siblings together in foster care gives them one less thing to worry about during this difficult time and can help them cope better emotionally with their experiences. Furthermore, research shows that if siblings are kept together, placements tend to be more stable and successful.
Equally, the long-term outcomes for children are improved. So keeping them together makes total sense. Unfortunately, there’s a shortage of specialist sibling foster parents, so we’d welcome people who are willing or able to take this step of caring for siblings.
Training and support
There are specific challenges of working with siblings, and so we regard this as a specialist area with additional training and support, including access to professionals who specialise in family dynamics. They’ll work with you to get the best experiences for you and the children in your care.
Generous allowances
You’ll receive a generous weekly fostering payment for each child in your care, together with other allowances for religious holidays and birthdays, all designed to reward your professionalism and commitment. Plus you'll receive discounts to some of your favourite shops, restaurants and family experiences.
Can foster siblings share a room?
Usually, each child over the age of 3 has to have their own bedroom.
For siblings, the local authority may allow children to share up to the age of 10, so you’ll need either one bedroom with two beds (including bunk beds) or two spare bedrooms in your home.
Whether siblings can share a bedroom is generally a decision made by the local authority and will depend on the individual needs of the children.
Are you suited to fostering siblings?
To foster siblings, you’ll need the skills and qualities all foster parents need, but there are some other considerations too, including the extra challenges of caring for more than one vulnerable child, especially if you have your own or other children in your home. For obvious reasons, the work can be doubly challenging – but it can be doubly rewarding also.
Other types of fostering
Short-term
Short term fostering can range from a single night to 2 years, depending on the needs of the child and family.
Long-term
Long-term care provides children with the stability of a single foster family right through to adulthood.
Teenagers
There are many teenagers in care who need unconditional love and support during this critical stage of their life.
Disability fostering
There are many children and young people with disabilities who require specialist foster care.
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Ready to start your fostering journey?
By phone
One of our team is available to talk to you over the phone to answer any of your fostering queries.
Enquire online
You can get in touch by filling out our online enquiry form with any queries that you may have.
Your local office
We have local teams covering most of England. Find your local office today.