be a foster carer

together we grow

about fostering

fostering is a rewarding and secure career option

Every year, thousands of foster families are needed in England. Alongside the rewards of making a difference in the lives of vulnerable children and young people you will receive competitive rates of pay. Fostering gives you the opportunity to work out of your home and be available for other children or family members. Or you can potentially continue to work and supplement your income, provided the needs of the child are met.

You will also develop skills and be given opportunities to attend training to support your ability to provide quality care.

you can foster if you meet the following criteria:

The law states you must be 21 years or over, with asphaleia requesting that all applicants have life experience.
You need a spare room.
You must be a full-time UK resident.
You must be certified as fit and healthy by your GP through a funded medical assessment.
You need a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
You must be willing to complete a seven-part course called Skills to Foster (normally delivered across two days).
You need to complete a Form F assessing your skills and knowledge with a qualified social worker to assist. This can take anywhere between 8-10 visits.
The entire household will need to be interviewed.
You need to demonstrate that you can provide a safe and happy home for a young person.

We are confident that our supportive approach will enable you to manage the process and explore your suitability with us.

an outstanding agency focused on quality care

We are a unique agency in that we are part of a wider organisation providing services for children and young people and so have a wide breadth of knowledge and skills across our staff team and foster carers. asphaleia as an organisation has been delivering services to disadvantaged children and young people for over 25 years. We have developed trauma-informed approaches in our services to develop our skills and capabilities of working with our service users.

As an agency, we are a small, friendly, and immensely experienced team. We collaboratively work to ensure children are cared for in a safe and supportive manner, that they are heard and are able to express themselves and their wishes, and that they are provided an environment in which they can thrive. We are also passionate about seeing our foster carers thrive and offer comprehensive support, careful matching, and personal development plans.

enabling you to be the best carer you can be

24/7 support 365 days of the year from your allocated supervising social worker and/or other members of the team.

A wide range of inclusive and necessary training days will be put in place alongside a personal development plan to support you while you foster.

BACS payments are made on a fortnightly basis.

You will be offered partnerships with other more experienced foster carers.

Being part of an organisation that provides holistic services to children and young people enabling you to access education, CSE, and mental health support services that your yp might need and also connect with knowledgeable and experienced staff.

We love fostering with asphaleia. Not only do we get a huge sense of satisfaction and fulfillment from seeing the difference we are making in a young person's life but we have also received the very best support, advice and training at every step of our fostering journey. I have never regretted my decision to start fostering. Our own children have benefitted and still enjoy the experience and our young person is seen by everyone as being part of our family.

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you probably have questions...

how is an agency different from a local authority?

An agency is separate from the local authority in which the agency is based and so an independent fostering agency is able to accept placements from multiple local authorities. Agencies get a wider range of children from multiple locations. It’s also a smaller environment to work in and therefore more personal. We are able to build up a strong relationship with our foster carers.

what is the difference between fostering and adoption?

Fostering means that the children placed with you will always be the legal responsibility of the local authority who make decisions perhaps along with the birth parents. Adoption means that the child becomes part of your family and you take legal responsibility and make all parental decisions for them.

how long does the assessment process take?

When people decide to become a foster carer, we visit them in their home and if this is satisfactory from both sides, then we would send an application form. When the application is received, then we can match them with an assessor. From start to finish, we aim to complete an assessment between 4-6 months. Obviously, this is dependent on the commitment of the applicants.

how much do I get paid to foster?