Foster Care QUestions and Answers

There is no upper age limit for fostering, but you need to be fit enough to care for the children.

You would just need to be aged 21 years or over, with a degree of life experience and maturity to cope with the responsibility.

Read more on our Can I Foster page.

No, qualifications are not required. We will provide full training and support during your application and throughout your fostering journey. However it would be useful if you have experience in looking after or working with children.

No, but you do need a stable home for a foster child with no risk of eviction and you must not have rent arrears. As part of the assessment process we will seek references from either your landlord if you rent, or the bank if you have a mortgage.

This is something that we would assess on an individual basis.

There would need to be sufficient flexibility in your current role in order for you to meet the needs of the children in your care. You would also be required to attend regular meetings and training courses. Your fostering role should always be seen as a priority over any other work commitments you have.

We need to ensure that the vulnerable children and young people in our care have a safe and secure home. As such we will carry out police checks (such as DBS in England and Wales and PVG in Scotland) as part of the fostering application process to ensure we know of any convictions.

We will assess each potential foster carer on an individual basis and discuss the impact of any convictions on their ability to become a foster carer. If you have convictions you must mention these when you make your initial enquiry, early disclosure will allow us to advise you better.

Yes, many of our foster carers have pets and they can often help children to relax and settle into a new home. As part of your family, your pets will be part of your fostering assessment. It is important to ensure that they are up to date on their vaccination and they are not likely to pose a threat to any children in your care.

We will take your pets into consideration when we are looking to place children with you, to ensure that they are comfortable around animals, and that there are no allergies.

Smoking will not necessarily prevent you from fostering, however you will not be able to foster children under the age of 5 if you smoke.

The health of the children in your care will always be our priority and if you do smoke it will be a requirement that you do not smoke in your home or in your car.

Being able to drive isn’t essential, as long as you have access to suitable transport that enables you to fulfil the duties required of a foster carer such as getting the child or young person to and from school and appointments.

This will also enable you to get to and from training and meetings with your social worker as required.

Yes, you do not have to be married or in a relationship to foster. Many of our foster carers are single.

Yes, your sexuality does not affect your ability to foster. We welcome applications from people regardless of gender, sexuality, marital status, race or religion. Read more on our LGBTQ+ Fostering page

Yes, we welcome enquiries from anyone interested in fostering and will assess each application on an individual basis. If you have been turned down by another agency this doesn’t necessarily mean we will draw the same conclusions.

It is essential that you let us know about any prior applications during your initial contact. We will then work with you to understand the reasons behind their decisions and independently assess your circumstances and application.

We often get asked this question, and the answer depends to some extent on yourself and how ready you are to move through the process, and also the availability of training. It is probably best answered by breaking it down into the stages:

Initial Enquiry: Once you contact us to make an enquiry, we aim to have a telephone discussion with you within a couple of days. At the end of that conversation, you will be asked if you are ready to progress to the next stage which is a home visit. You may require more time to think and you can get in touch with us when you are ready.

Home Visit: This will take place within a few weeks of the enquiry. After the home visit you will receive a copy of the report. If you are ready, and TACT want to proceed, you will be invited to the Skills To Foster training.

Skills To Foster Training: This course is taken virtually. You will be given a choice of dates to choose from. We also run some evening and weekend courses.

Assessment: Once you have attended the course and if you and TACT agree that you should proceed, you will be allocated an assessor. This assessment will take between 4 and 6 months until you go to panel for approval.

Panel: If you are approved at panel, we will then begin looking for a placement for you.

Read more on our How To Become a Foster Carer page.

Yes, if you are living together your partner will be a secondary carer and as such you will both need to be involved in the application and assessment from the home visit stage of the process.

Read more on our How To Become a Foster Carer page.

The fostering assessment is split into two parts:

In stage one, we will carry out several checks and references which will help to assess your suitability to become a foster carer.

Moving into stage two, you will have regular meetings with your Assessing Social Worker where you will have detailed discussions on a range of subjects relevant to your desire to become a foster carer. We will focus on your topics such as your childhood, your relationships, and your employment to learn more about all the reasons that have led you towards applying to be a foster carer. Stage two is also an opportunity for you to really understand the fostering role and what it will mean for you and your family.

The fostering assessment involves a number of checks including medical, financial, DBS (in England and Wales) or PVG (in Scotland). Because fostering involves the whole family, checks will also be carried out on other members of the household.  If you are living together, your partner will be a secondary carer and as such you will both need to be involved in the application and assessment process.

We will contact a number of references for you, both personal and from your employer.

As part of the assessment process, we will also need to make contact with other significant adults in your life, which will include ex-partners and adult children – your Social Worker will explain in more detail what the checks entails and who needs to be involved.

We do this together. During your assessment we will discuss the types of fostering that you are interested in as well as the ages and types of children that you would like to foster. We encourage all prospective carers to be as open and flexible as possible, as this will enable them to change the lives of more children.

We believe that matching the right child with the right carers is one of the most important factors. Once approved, we will ensure that we work closely with you to match the right child to you, your family and your skills and experience. You will be fully consulted before any decision is made.

We gather as much information as possible about each child that is referred to us, as this enables to make better matches. The more that we know about a child and the background the easier it will be to match them with a carer that can meet their needs.

When we identify you as a potential match for a child we will share the information that we have and consult with you on whether you feel the child would be a good fit for you and your family.

The children can be any age from 0-17.

During your application and assessment we will work with you to understand the ages and types of children that you would like to foster. We would encourage you to be as open and flexible as possible as this will increase the likelihood of us being able to place a child with you.

During your assessment we will discuss the types and ages of children that you would like to foster. We do receive regular referrals for children with disabilities and additional needs and there is a shortage of carers for these types of children. If you are particularly interested in fostering a child with a disability, TACT will support you in doing this.

Read more on our Disability Foster Care page.

You will be expected to work with ‘birth families’ – i.e. a child’s natural born parent(s). You may be involved in facilitating or supervising contact. In all cases a full risk assessment will be carried out. You will be supported and offered training in this area.

In order to apply to be a foster carer you must have a spare bedroom available for fostering.

This is because foster children must have their own space and privacy in order to help the recovery from any past trauma they may have experienced.

The only time foster children are allowed to share a room is if they are same-sex siblings. In this case you would need to be approved to care for siblings and have a room that has adequate space for more than one child.

This would be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

In many cases a foster child can be taken on holiday with the agreement of the local authority responsible for the child. However there may be circumstances that mean a child is not allowed to be taken out of the country. Sometimes a birth family will not give permission for this. Another reason may be a young person’s immigration status.

All foster carers must complete the introductory Skills to Foster training, as well as Fostering Changes and the Fostering Standards. After approval a wide range of training is available. Most training can be taken virtually from the comfort of your home.

At TACT we passionately believe in supporting our foster carers with ongoing training and support that enables you to provide the best care possible to the children and young people placed with you. As such we arrange various training courses throughout the year and arrange bespoke training according to the needs of our carers and the children placed with them.

Read more on our Foster Carer Training page.

Fostering involves the whole family and can be a positive and transformative experience for your own children.

Your children will be included in the application and assessment process, and your social worker will meet with them to discuss their thoughts and feelings about fostering and to answer any questions that they may have.

Once you are approved as a foster carer, your children will have access to ongoing support from your social worker and our Engagement & Activity Practitioners (EAPs) to help them through any challenges that they face as a result of being part of a fostering family.

Read more on our Support For Your Own Children page.