Foster Carer

Role summary

• Foster Carers are responsible for working in partnership with the National Fostering Agency and Local Authorities to provide a safe, secure and nurturing family environment, and allow children to stay in contact with their own families if appropriate.
• Carers are required for children and young people aged between 0-18 from a variety of different backgrounds, including specialised placements such as Sibling Groups, children with special needs and also Parent & Child placements.

Minimum requirements

• The time and energy to invest in a child or young person
• A bedroom for the exclusive use of the foster child
• Couples will need to arrange their working hours so that one carer can be available full time
• Single carers will need to be at home full-time, or have flexible, part-time employment
• We will undertake a range of checks and references
• We will consider your health & background
• We welcome applications from all ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds

Abilities required

• Flexibility, patience and understanding
• An ability to work in partnership with the agency
• An ability to work as part of a professional team
• Child care skills, including any experience of caring for children
• An ability to provide a caring and nurturing environment.

Rewards

• At the National Fostering Agency we believe that our carers and foster children should have a good standard of living and a quality of life.
• You will receive a minimum allowance of £366.00 a week for each child in placement. This allowance is paid when you have a child placed with you and is intended to cover all the needs of each foster child and also to assist the carer with their own living costs.
• Allowances for looking after foster children placed with the National Fostering Agency are generally not taxable. However, foster carers who have number of children placed with may them or other sources of income may be liable to pay some tax.
• You must register as self-employed and pay NI contributions
• Fostering counts as self-employment, so you may be entitled to Working Tax Credit (and also Child Tax Credit if you have children of your own). You need to get advice about Tax Credits, which takes into consideration your own individual circumstances.

Support, Training & Development

• We provide ongoing support from our qualified and experienced staff, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• You will have your own Supervising Social Worker who will guide you through the fostering process, with full support from NFA.
• Training and development opportunities in your local area to widen your professional foster care portfolio, E-Learning opportunities and bespoke information sessions with other foster carers at support groups

The Application Process

• Stage one is a conversation with a Carer Recruitment Officer to establish the core minimum requirements. 
• Stage two is an Initial Visit in your home carried out by an NFA Supervising Social Worker during which we will assess with you if it would be appropriate to progress your application to a formal assessment. 
• Stage three is the Fostering Assessment process which is usually completed within 4-6 months.  A professionally qualified Social Worker will carry out this assessment and work with you to collect all the information that is needed for the assessment report. Once completed, this report is presented to the NFA Fostering Panel, where a recommendation will be made.

During the assessment period we will invite you to attend the three-day 'Skills to Foster’ training course, which will give you the opportunity to learn more about the fostering process, meet an experienced foster carer and meet local people who are also in the fostering assessment process          

Disclaimer

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the role being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of person classified.