What we do

Fostering

We are always looking for more families who can offer children a home on a short or long-term basis.

Our carers offer three types of placement

• permanent placement which is full-time and long-term
• bridge placement which is full-time and up to two years
• short term breaks or respite care which is part-time care

All foster carers have to attend preparatory training, undergo a range of checks and references and participate in a full assessment process.

What kind of people make good foster carers?

• by law you must be over 21 years.
• you need to be mature, sensible, responsible and have some experience with children
• you can be married, single, co-habiting, but must have been in a stable situation for at least two years. (In Scotland by law you cannot be sharing your home with another unrelated adult of the same sex as you).
• you must enjoy children and have the health and energy to manage their demands and needs.
• you need to have an open mind and treat people equally with respect accepting children and adults for who they are.
• you need to be flexible and able to accept advice and guidance.
• you need to be able to tolerate stress and talk about worries, fears, failures and feelings openly and honestly. Being able and willing to admit mistakes, to try new ideas and to be honest with yourself, your family and ourselves are very important features of being a carer.

What do foster parents do?

• take good care of children and accept them for who they are.
• learn about the needs of the children in their care and treat them as a valued member of the family.
• help children understand their histories and follow their own cultural and religious traditions.
• provide security, stability, consistency, understanding and genuine warmth to children in their care (routines and clear expectations are important).
• help children maintain contact with their families (where appropriate) and anyone else who is important to them.
• help the child or young person in their care reach his/her full potential, educationally, physically and emotionally.
• help make plans for the child or young person in their care, working in partnership with social workers and others.
• attend meetings, reviews and sometimes Children’s Panels, and prepare reports for these.

Foster carers need to do all the things parents do for their children and more. Caring for someone else’s child is not the same as parenting your own child and relationships take time and lots of effort (on your part) to build. It can be hard work, physically and emotionally draining and incredibly rewarding as well.

What do Family Placement Services give foster carers?

• training – before and after a child is placed. Ongoing training is very important, learning never stops.
• support – each family has a Barnardo’s social worker supporting them. Each child also has a social worker who will stay in touch. In addition, we run Carers’ Groups where you can get advice, help and moral support from people who know what you are going through. Barnardo’s Family Placement Services also provides a 24 hour telephone advice support system through our own staff.
• breaks – recognising the stresses of foster care, we build-in respite to our placement plans. This means that usually you can arrange a holiday break once a year plus regular weekends. Not all carers choose to use respite and it is not always “right” for some children but most of our carers need this time out to re-charge their batteries.
• finance – Barnardo’s Family Placement Services pay carers a fee and an allowance for maintenance for each child. Expenses are also paid for certain tasks.