Becoming a foster carer: every guide in one place

Most people think about fostering for years before they pick up the phone. These are the guides we point people to when they ask us whether they could do it, what the assessment is really like, and what happens once they are approved. Start with whichever question has been on your mind.

Could you foster?

• Could You Be a Foster Carer? Common Myths About Who Can Foster
• Can You Foster If You Work? An Honest Answer
• Can You Foster in a Rented Home or a Flat?
• Do You Need a Spare Bedroom to Foster?
• Can Single People Foster? An Honest Look at Fostering on Your Own
• Can You Foster If You Have Pets?
• Men in Fostering: Why We Need More Male Foster Carers
• Fostering When You Have Children of Your Own
• What Would Disqualify Me from Being a Foster Carer?
• Can I Foster If I Am Bisexual?
• Will My Home Pass the Fostering Home Safety Check?

What fostering involves day to day

• What Does Fostering Actually Involve Day to Day?
• Why London Needs More Foster Carers Right Now
• What Support Do Foster Carers Receive?
• The Mockingbird Family Model: How Foster Carers Support Each Other
• Safeguarding and Safer Care at Home: What It Actually Means Day to Day
• Keeping Foster Care Records: What to Write Down, and Why
• Compassion Fatigue in Foster Care: How Carers Look After Themselves

The assessment, and what comes after

• What to expect when you’re going through a fostering assessment
• Preparing to Welcome a Foster Child: What to Do Before They Arrive
• Starting Your Journey as a Foster Carer: What to Expect After Approval
• If I Foster, Will I Always Have a Placement?
• Should I transfer fostering agency?
• Is it better to foster with local authority or agency?

In carers’ own words

• Novelette’s Story
• A Moment in Time: A Foster Mum’s Story
• ‘Foster mum’s the reason I’m off to top university’