Find out more about fostering

Fostering is welcoming a child or young person into your home when they are unable to live with their own family. As a foster carer, you commit to caring for the child or young person as if they were your own children. This could be for anything from a few days to many years, depending on the type of fostering.

Children and young people who need foster carers vary in age from babies to teenagers and have a variety of needs. They can be in care for all sorts of reasons, their parents may have mental health problems or issues concerning drug and alcohol misuse. There may be violence in the family and children could have been hurt or abused. Many of the children and young people have been through difficult and distressing experiences and may find it difficult to trust adults.

Unlike adoption, fostering is legally a temporary arrangement, but many foster families find they maintain loving relationships with the children and young people they have fostered, even when they are adults and no longer in their care.

Fostering is a big commitment and at times will be challenging. However many of our foster carers speak of the immense sense of pride and fulfilment that fostering brings and how rewarding it is to see children and young people thriving in their care. Foster carers Paula and Roman share their thoughts on their experiences of fostering in Trafford.

Subtitles are available by clicking the Youtube logo on the video and selecting the CC option.

Come along to one of our face-to-face or online information sessions to find out more about what fostering entails and meet our friendly team.

Types of fostering

Every foster carer and every fostered child is an individual and it is important that fostering arrangements are right for you and right for the child. Call our experienced team on 0161 912 3558 to find out more about the best options for you.

Short term fostering

Short term placements can last anything from a day up to several years and will be different for every child. This is intended as a temporary arrangement where you care for the child or children with a view to them moving on; this could be back to family or to a permanent or long-term placement.

As a short term foster carer you will need to be flexible and resilient and able to welcome a child into your home for an indefinite period.

Long term fostering

Long term foster carers provide permanent care within a loving and stable home to children and young people who are unable to live with their birth family. The arrangement is usually intended to last until adulthood and during that time the child may continue to maintain a relationship with their birth family.

Unlike with adoption, legal responsibility for the child remains with the local authority rather than with the foster family.

Short breaks

Short breaks, also known in Trafford as ‘Home from Home’ stays, are placements for children with special needs that give parents and carers a break from their caring responsibilities. This is generally for between one and four nights per stay.

As a short breaks foster carer you would usually welcome the same children or young people on a regular basis, getting to know their family and working closely with them.

Supported lodgings

Supported lodgings is a scheme providing temporary accommodation for young people aged 16-21.

As a supported lodgings provider you would offer safe, secure and supportive accommodation in your home to young people who may require support. This could be due to a number of reasons:

• leaving care
• family breakdown
• bereavement 
• risk or harm 

But all require emotional and practical guidance in order to develop the skills and confidence to live independently. 

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children

An unaccompanied asylum-seeking child (UASC) is aged under 18 and applying for asylum while separated from both parents and not in the care of a guardian.

Children in this position need safe and loving homes as they adjust to living in a new country and learning a new language. They also need support to go through the process of applying for permission to remain in the UK.