Barnardo’s Fostering
& Adoption Week

With over 100 years’ experience of finding families for children, we specialise in recruiting, training and supporting foster carers, adoptive parents and short break carers.

Call us on 0800 0277 280 to find out more about fostering or adopting with Barnardo’s or contact your nearest Barnardo’s service for an informal discussion.

Fostering

Fostering is about looking after other people’s children when they are unable to remain with their own families. Foster care provides a safe, secure and stable environment for these young people.

Find out more about who can foster, how to foster and fostering allowances and pay.

Adoption

Adoption is a way of providing a new family for a child when living with their own family is not possible. It is the assumption of full legal and parental responsibility for a child. The child becomes a full member of the adoptive family.

Find out more about who can adopt, how to adopt and the support available to Barnardo's adoptive parents.

Short break care

Short break carers provide opportunities for disabled children and young people to have regular short stays away from their families. This allows children to develop experiences and social contacts beyond their own home.

Find out more about becoming a short break carer.

Special Guardianship

Special Guardianship is intended to provide permanence for children for whom adoption is not appropriate. It involves a lifelong relationship between the carer and the child or young person.

Find out more about becoming a special guardian.

If you’re interested in fostering or adopting with Barnardo’s please feel free to contact us.

Telephone us: You can call us on 0800 0277 280. Our friendly team will be happy to answer any questions or send you an information pack.

Email us: Alternatively you can submit an online enquiry form and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.

Contact your local Barnardo’s service directly: Barnardo’s has fostering and adoption services across the UK with dedicated staff on hand to answer your questions and support you throughout the process.  Choose your area from the lists below to find a service near you.

• We run fostering and short break services in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, London, East and South East England, the Midlands, North West England, North East England, South West England and Yorkshire.
• We run adoption services in Wales, Scotland, London, East and South East England, North East England, South West England and Yorkshire.

Attend an information event: You can come and meet our staff and find out more about becoming a foster carer or adoptive parent by attending one of our local information events.  Please contact your local service for details of their next event or see our news page.

Barnardo’s is the most established provider of family placement services in the UK.  We provide specialist fostering and adoption services nationwide, including emergency fostering, remand fostering, fostering for disabled children and placements for young people who have been sexually exploited or trafficked.

We can tailor our provision to create customised packages that meet your local placement needs.  We are committed to improving children’s lives and outcomes at every level of our service provision.

Barnardo's services offer value for money, flexibility and a range of skilled and experienced staff. Find out more about our:

• specialist fostering and adoption services
• list of approved carers and adopters awaiting placement
• fostering and adoption research, policy and resources.

To find out more about working with Barnardo’s family placement services please contact your local Barnardo's service.  To find out more about the other diverse services for children and young people offered by Barnardo’s, please see Commissioning Children’s Services.