How do I become a foster carer?
Lucy Stevens - 4th September 2019
Step 2: The home visit Once you have done your research and have decided you want to become a foster carer, you can arrange a home visit. An important part of your journey to become a foster carer is to ensure you are well informed. To this end, the home visit is an excellent opportunity to ask any questions you have about fostering and becoming a foster carer. I want to become a foster carer.What questions should I ask? Deciding to become a foster carer can open up all sorts of questions and worries. Therefore it is important that the fostering service you are speaking to are open and responsive to your questions. You can find a list of the
Tags: applying to be a foster carer, becoming a foster carer, becoming a foster family, becoming a fostering family, essex foster care, Essex fostering, fostering agencies near me, fostering application, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering children, fostering Suffolk, how do I become a foster carer, Suffolk fostering
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Which children are most in need of foster carers?
Lucy Stevens - 26th September 2018
Every month we get between 150 and 190 referrals for children who are in need of foster carers. Contrary to popular belief these are not all tiny babies; rather they include a variety of children and young people. This month we have had numerous requests for carers for young mothers and their babies, small and large sibling groups and children entering or well-established into their teen years. To cope with the demand for carers across a wide range of children, we need carers of all sorts. There isn’t a “one size fits all” mould for carers. Carers can be of all backgrounds, religious persuasion, sexuality, race or standing. What we hope to find in potential carers is a desire to
Tags: applying to be a foster carer, becoming a foster carer, Cambridgeshire, do foster carers get paid?, Eastern Fostering Services, Essex, foster, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk, how to foster
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Why foster?
Lucy Stevens - 6th September 2018
“Why am I doing this?” is a question all foster carers will ask themselves at some point and it’s an important question to ask yourself as it enables you to keep your motivations central to your fostering experience. So why do people foster? Most people who foster feel passionately about the wellbeing of children. They want to give opportunities to children who may not have had the best start in life; they want to share something of themselves, if you like. For many, this is not centred around sharing material wealth, this is about loving, nurturing and caring for a child and for others there is a sense that “I have so much and want to share it.” Most foster
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Your fostering questions answered – personal checks and references
Lucy Stevens - 26th July 2018
What personal checks and references are needed for my assessment to become a foster carer? And why? Eastern Fostering Services wants to recruit foster carers who can meet the individual needs of children and young people and provide them with a safe and nurturing environment in which to grow. When they apply, all prospective foster carers undergo a fostering assessment which takes on average 4-6 months. The assessment includes: An initial home visit A medical report – carried out by the GP and paid for by EFS At least 3 personal references Identity checks including an enhanced DBS Previous partner references Health and Safety assessments 6-10 home visits and interviews including some with birth children and other household members A
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The Fostering Assessment – why do we need to carry out checks?
Lucy Stevens - 26th July 2018
Eastern Fostering Services wants to recruit foster carers who can meet the individual needs of children; who can provide them with a safe and nurturing environment in which to grow. When they apply, all prospective foster carers undergo a fostering assessment which takes on average 4-6 months. Included in the fostering assessment · An initial home visit. · A medical report – carried out by the GP and paid for by EFS. · At least 3 personal references. · Identity checks including an enhanced DBS. · Previous partner references. · Health and Safety assessments. · 6-10 home visits and interviews including some with birth children and other household members. · A full Coram/BAAF form F assessment detailing the qualities, competences
Tags: applying to be a foster carer, Eastern Fostering Services, foster care, fostering, fostering agency, fostering application, fostering assessment, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk, skills to foster
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Do I get paid to be a foster carer?
Lucy Stevens - 17th July 2018
When it comes to fostering, money is an emotive and often controversial topic of conversation. Nonetheless, in the interest of answering the questions we get about finances, it is a topic we’d like to address. We’d like to start out by making it clear that good foster carers are always motivated by a deep desire to make a positive difference in the lives of children. The best foster carers seek to nurture, love and advocate for the children in their care. In our experience, very few carers are ever motivated by financial gain and it is very important to us that they are not. However, one cannot escape the fact that it costs money to raise a child and it
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Showing Affection
Lucy Stevens - 4th July 2018
“I was told you can’t cuddle a child or sit on their bed to read a story!” This is a comment we get all the time and in the majority of cases, it couldn’t be further from the truth. In the fostering household, we want to replicate all the positives of growing up in a nurturing family. We want children to feel listened to, cherished, nurtured and advocated for. In lots of families, this sense of security and being valued comes from physical affection too, something that many of us take for granted. One of the differences between fostering and parenting is that as a foster carer, you have to be a lot more intentional around things like physical affection.
Tags: applying to be a foster carer, becoming a foster carer, Cambridgeshire, Eastern Fostering Services, fostering, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering service, fostering Suffolk, how to foster, Suffolk, The Fostering Network
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Fostering and the spare room
Lucy Stevens - 29th June 2018
Do I need a spare room to foster? We've talked to many people interested in fostering in Essex, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. One of the most common questions is "Why do I need a spare room in order to foster?" The short answer is that it is a mandatory requirement to have a spare bedroom to dedicate to fostering when you apply to be a foster carer. Many people find this frustrating and we often get further questions asking us why this policy exists for foster carers. Would you move into a house and share a bedroom with a complete stranger? Moving in with a new foster family is a frightening and confusing time for children, no matter how young or
Tags: applying to be a foster carer, Cambridgeshire, Eastern Fostering Services, Essex, foster care, foster carer, fostering, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk, Spare room, Suffolk
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Why do I need a spare room in order to foster?
Lucy Stevens - 27th June 2018
This is a question we still get asked a lot! So we thought we’d tackle it as the first topic in our series of videos answering your most common fostering questions. The short answer is that it is a mandatory requirement to have a spare bedroom to dedicate to fostering when you apply to be a foster carer*. Many people find this very frustrating and we often get further questions asking us why this policy exists for Local Authorities and Fostering Providers. Here are just a few reasons: Would you move into a house and share a bedroom with a complete stranger? Moving in with a new foster family is a frightening and confusing time for children, no matter how
Tags: #ProudToFoster, #ProudToSupportFostering, applying to be a foster carer, becoming a foster carer, Cambridgeshire, Eastern Fostering Services, Essex, foster, foster care, fostering, fostering agency, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, Suffolk
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We’re here to answer your fostering questions
Lucy Stevens - 18th June 2018
As we speak to people across Essex, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire about the shortage in foster carers, we are always struck by the fact that the same questions get asked and that many similar misconceptions are held. In a series of videos we’d like to answer the questions we hear most frequently. But of course we’ll also answer any other questions you’d like us to. Please feel free to message us or comment with your questions or tell us what’s stopping you from taking that step towards fostering. If you’d prefer to ask your questions in person, you can come to one of our events or drop in to our offices. For all dates and details please visit our Facebook events
Tags: #ProudToFoster, #ProudToSupportFostering, applying to be a foster carer, becoming a foster carer, Cambridgeshire, Eastern Fostering Services, foster, foster care, foster carer, fostering, fostering application, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk, how to foster, Suffolk, The Fostering Network
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