If you’re new to fostering, you probably have a lot of questions you’d like answered before taking the plunge. These days, although the internet makes finding information easier than ever, it can also feel incredibly overwhelming when you search ‘fostering’ and Google finds thousands of relevant webpages.
At Orange Grove, we like to keep things simple. That’s why we’ve created this blog and our Ultimate Guide to Fostering so you have everything in one place and can start your fostering journey knowing exactly:
- What fostering really is
- Why children need foster care
- The different types of fostering available
- Who can become a foster parent
- What the fostering process involves
- What kind of training and support you’ll receive
- How fostering allowances work
What is fostering?
When a child or young person is unable to live with their birth family, the local authority becomes responsible for their well-being. They work with fostering agencies like us to find them a safe home until they can return to their families or alternative arrangements are made for their care, such as adoption.
At Orange Grove, fostering is about more than providing children and young people with physical safety. It’s about finding them the right home with foster parents who love them like their own and provide a foundation for them to heal from their past experiences, create positive new memories, and begin rebuilding their lives.
Why do children need foster care?
Each child’s background and story is unique. But the sad fact is that 66% of children who are unable to live with their families have experienced some form of abuse or neglect. This could include having their physical, emotional, or educational needs neglected or being a victim of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse.
Children move into care if their well-being is at risk, which means there are a few other reasons why a child may need a foster home, including:
- Family dysfunction: There may be an ongoing sibling conflict, parent-child conflict, or domestic violence in the home.
- Family in acute stress: If a family is going through a crisis, such as the death of a relative, homelessness, or financial issues, a child may need temporary foster care while the family recovers.
- Parental illness: If a parent becomes unwell and needs hospital care but there is no suitable guardian for their child, fostering ensures the child’s needs are met while their parent or guardian is treated.
- Death of a parent or guardian: If the child’s parent or guardian has passed away, and there is no one to take them in, foster care can offer them a home.
- Absent parenting: If a parent is physically available for their child but emotionally disconnected or uninvolved in their life, the child may need foster care to prevent neglect.
- Seeking asylum: Sometimes, children seek asylum without a parent or guardian and need a safe home in the UK.
Foster care is about providing a foundation that many of us take for granted – a safe, stable, and loving home where a child’s well-being is not only protected but nurtured. A place to call home, where they can be themselves, are encouraged to achieve and are supported on their healing journey.
The types of fostering available
Children need foster homes for varying lengths of time, depending on their situations and circumstances. Some may live with their foster families for a couple of days, whereas others may stay until they reach adulthood.
That’s why, at Orange Grove, we offer different types of fostering to meet each child’s individual needs. As a foster parent, this means you can choose which type of fostering to offer based on your lifestyle, skills, and family.
Here are the types of fostering we offer:
- Emergency fostering: This is when children need a home at very short notice. When you foster a child in an emergency, they’ll usually stay with you from one to five nights while a longer-term plan is agreed for their care.
- Short-term fostering: Arrangements last from a few days to around two years and occasionally longer if necessary. There are a few reasons why a child may need a short-term foster home, for instance, if their family is involved in court proceedings or if the child is waiting to be adopted.
- Long-term fostering: When children are unable to return home, long-term foster parents provide them with safety, stability and a loving home until they reach adulthood and sometimes beyond.
- Parent and child fostering: Sometimes, parents need a little extra help when preparing for the arrival of their baby and in the early days of parenthood. If you choose this type of fostering, you’ll welcome a Mum or Dad (sometimes both) and their baby into your home, where you’ll teach them the essential caregiving skills needed to parent on their own.
- Respite fostering: As a respite foster parent, you’ll become like the extended family for children living with other foster families, offering them a familiar and comforting place to stay while their foster parents recuperate.
- Fostering siblings: When you foster siblings, you help preserve and nurture the sibling bond. Moving into care can be an anxious and frightening time, but having a sibling’s hand to hold can offer children comfort and reassurance.
- Fostering teenagers: If you foster a teenager, you’ll support them in managing their emotions, building life skills, and guiding them as they explore life after care.
- Fostering children with disabilities: Many children in care are living with disabilities or complex health needs. These children require specialist care from foster parents who understand their condition and can provide the care they need.
- Fostering sanctuary-seeking children: The number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arriving in the UK is increasing. When these children arrive in the UK, they need safe homes with foster parents who can help them navigate a new country, language, and culture.
Who can foster?
You don’t need any prior experience to become a foster parent, but there are a few initial requirements. To foster in the UK, you must:
- Be over 21, there is no upper age limit.
- Have the legal right to live and work in the UK.
- Have a spare bedroom for the exclusive use of a child.
- Be dedicated and passionate about supporting a child in care.
Foster parents can be single, married, or cohabiting, and your sexual orientation, gender identity, race, religion, or culture will not impact your application. You can also foster if you have a disability or mental health condition, just as long as it won’t impact your ability to provide the best possible care and your well-being isn’t negatively affected.
What matters to us is that you can provide children and young people with a safe, stable, and nurturing foster home where they feel loved and have the chance to heal, grow, and thrive.
Understanding the fostering process
The process of becoming a foster parent usually takes between four to six months, giving you the chance to learn more about the role and reflect on whether it’s the right decision for you and your family.
At Orange Grove, we’ve streamlined the fostering process, breaking it down into five simple steps so you know exactly where you are and what will happen next. The five steps are as follows:
Step one: Enquiry
The first step to becoming a foster parent is making an initial enquiry. You can either call us on 0800 369 8513 or fill in your details using our online enquiry form, and one of our experienced fostering advisors will be in touch.
Step two: Home visit
Following your initial enquiry, if you’re happy with everything and want to move forward, our fostering advisors will organise a home visit.
A member of the Orange Grove team will either visit you at home or meet with you virtually via a video call. They’ll provide a comprehensive overview of fostering, including the challenges and rewards, fostering pay, support, and training.
Step three: Application
Now you know exactly what fostering is all about, it’s time to submit your application.
The application form is easy to navigate and will ask you to input details such as your basic personal information, other people living in your household, and your reasons for wanting to foster.
Once submitted, our assessment manager will review your application, and if accepted, we’ll assign an assessing social worker to you who’ll begin your fostering assessment.
Step four: Assessment
The fostering assessment makes up the majority of the fostering process, taking three to six months to complete. This may seem like a long time, but we need to ensure every foster parent can provide vulnerable children with a safe, stable, and nurturing home.
The fostering assessment aims to gain a deeper understanding of your life and the qualities that would make you a good foster parent. Your assessing social worker will visit you at home six to eight times to gather information about you and your household to complete a detailed report called a Form F.
Don’t worry – your assessing social worker will guide you through the assessment, and our recruitment team is always on hand if you have any questions or need advice.
Step five: Fostering panel
Once your assessing social worker has completed your assessment, compiled the information into your Form F report, and believes you’re ready, the next step is to attend your fostering panel meeting.
Your fostering panel meeting may take place face-to-face but is more likely to happen virtually via Teams. Between five and seven independent panel members will review your Form F assessment and ask you some questions to help them better understand the details provided.
Training that equips you
At Orange Grove, our training not only equips foster parents with the knowledge, skills, and tools to foster but also builds confidence, resilience, and understanding to manage any challenges the role may bring.
Our training begins during your assessment and continues throughout your fostering journey, helping you develop professionally, and access training tailored to the needs of each child in your care.
You’ll also have the flexibility to schedule training around other commitments with our blended learning approach. We offer a mix of virtual daytime and evening sessions, face-to-face courses, and e-learning modules, giving you control over how and when you learn.
Our training has three stages:
- Pre-approval training: During the assessment stage of the fostering process, you’ll attend our ‘Prepare to Foster’ training. On this 2-to-3-day course, we’ll introduce you to key fostering topics, such as Child Development, Attachment, Trauma and Safeguarding.
- Mandatory training: Once you’re officially approved, during your first year of fostering, you’ll need to complete our mandatory training on topics such as Safeguarding, First aid and PRICE.
- Advanced training: Our advanced training is where you can really start expanding your knowledge. Whether the child in your care has a specific need or you want to deepen your understanding of a particular topic, we offer a huge range of interesting courses for every stage of your fostering journey.
Support is always on hand
At Orange Grove, you don’t walk your fostering journey alone. When you join us, you become part of our fostering family, which means you’ll always have someone to lean on, learn from, and share the highs and lows of fostering with.
We have worked hard to build a community that empowers foster families by offering the following support:
- Supervising social worker: You’ll have your very own dedicated supervising social worker. They’ll check in with you regularly and visit you at home to see how you’re getting on. Whether you need advice, guidance, or just a listening ear, they’ll be there for your whole family.
- Family support worker: Our family support workers provide practical support, ensuring every family member feels comfortable, valued, and heard within the foster home.
- Education specialist: We help you meet the educational needs of children in your care by providing in-house education experts who can offer guidance and advice on any school-related issues.
- Therapy services: We help you take care of your mental health by giving you easy access to a therapist whenever needed.
- 24/7 helpline: No matter the situation or time of day, you can speak to a qualified social worker around the clock.
- Support groups: We organise regular support groups where you can meet new and experienced foster parents. These groups offer a fantastic opportunity to build friendships, ask questions, and learn from the lived experiences of other foster
Generous fostering allowances
At Orange Grove, we value the time and effort our compassionate foster parents put into caring for vulnerable children and young people. That’s why when you foster with us, you receive a generous fostering allowance that’s far above the recommendations set by the Fostering Network. What’s more, it’s typically tax-free!
We split foster parent pay into two parts:
- Child’s allowance: This covers the costs of caring for a child, including things like food, clothing, hobbies, travel expenses, and more.
- Foster parent payment: This rewards you for your hard work, dedication and experience, ensuring you can foster without worrying about your finances.
We keep it simple, providing a clear payment structure based on the age of the children you foster and your level of experience. You’ll receive between £390 and £497 per week per child, along with additional rewards and benefits to enhance your fostering journey.
Additional rewards and benefits
At Orange Grove, on top of receiving a generous fostering allowance, you’ll also have access to some incredible perks, including:
- Additional payments to spend on celebrating birthdays and religious festivals for each child in your care.
- Mileage allowance in case you need to do any extra travelling when caring for a child.
- Two weeks of paid respite each year.
- Free membership to FosterTalk for even more support.
- Access to our foster parent rewards platform, which can save you money on your grocery shop, days out, holidays, and so much more.
- A bonus of up to £3000 for each family you successfully refer to us.
