Find out if you could be a foster carer
In a few simple questions, you’ll know if you’re suitable to apply to become a foster carer.
You’ll be supported throughout your application to become a foster carer (also known as a foster parent) with National Fostering Group. As the UK’s largest and most experienced agency, we’re with you every step of the way.
If you’re thinking about becoming a foster parent in the UK that’s brilliant! Good foster carers really make a difference to young lives. Carers also find it very rewarding for themselves and their families.
If you’re ready to apply to be a foster carer you can apply either with an independent fostering agency like National Fostering Group, or with your local authority.
On this page, we’ll talk you through the fostering application process with National Fostering Group.
If you’re interested in learning more or starting your application to become a foster carer, your next step is to get in touch with our team by completing our enquiry form. You will have the following options:
You’ll have the option to receive an information pack or arrange a call back from a member of your local agency team to tell you more about fostering.
We’ll arrange to meet with you and your family at your home, so we can get to know you better – and so you can get to know us too.
The Initial Home Visit is designed to help us to get to know each other and give you a more thorough understanding of what to expect from fostering if you go ahead with an application to become a foster carer.
You’ll need to complete an application form, which asks for basic information like contact details and an overview of your situation.
We’re here to help if you need guidance, there are no right or wrong answers.
A social worker will then be assigned to work with you through the rest of the process.
Your social worker will work with you to complete Form F and prepare you for the Fostering Panel meeting
The questions you’ll be asked are designed to find out how fostering might impact you and your family, including your own children, so it’s important to answer fully and honestly.
As one of the UK’s most experienced fostering agencies, we want to give you all the skills you need to be your best.
Your mandatory 3-day ‘Skills to Foster’ training is delivered free of charge either online or at a venue in your region.
A Fostering Panel makes a final check of all the information that has been gathered throughout the assessment process and makes a recommendation to approve your foster carer application.
The Panel then passes information to the Agency Decision Maker (ADM). You’ll be informed at the panel whether you are being recommended as approved to the ADM.
Once your Skills to Foster course has been completed and the ADM has approved your application, you’ll be ready for your first child.
The local agency team you have been working with will use the information you’ve provided to match you with your first child – and your foster carer journey will begin.
If you choose to become a foster carer with us, we have a seven-step framework to approve and induct you as a foster carer in the National Fostering Group, followed by ongoing support:
We mean it when we say we support you through your application and into your role as a foster carer. All you need to do is drop us a quick message using our enquiry form and we’ll go from there.
You’ve got the option to ask for:
The information pack
The information pack is emailed to you once you’ve submitted the contact form. It covers many topics you might have questions about, like fostering with pets and the requirements and criteria to foster (including queries about LGBT+ fostering, renting, religion, age and spare bedrooms). It also covers other topics, such as:
If you don’t want an information pack at this stage, that’s okay. You can submit the form again at a later date and request one, or simply ask your local fostering agency to email you a copy.
A call back
If you ask for a call, a member of your local agency team will call you back as soon as they can. This will be either the registered manager or a carer recruitment officer. They’ll be based at the closest office to you.
They will go over the process of becoming a foster carer with you. You’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions – for example, about the fostering allowance or free training.
At this point, if you’re ready to go ahead with your application, you can use this call to book an initial home visit.
Your initial home visit will help us get to know each other and give you a more thorough understanding of what to expect from fostering if you go ahead with an application to foster.
What happens during your home visit
During your home visit, a qualified member of our team will discuss your expectations of being a foster carer. They’ll share in-depth information about what the role of a foster carer entails.
They will also talk more about the importance of fostering, including the circumstances that lead children into foster care and our therapeutic fostering approach.
We’ll briefly assess the indoor and outdoor spaces of your home so we can see how a child could benefit from living there. This includes the bedroom your foster child will use. Please read more about spare rooms and fostering before you get in touch with us.
We’ll also start gathering more information about you and your immediate family, which will help prepare you for the rest of the application process.
Ask all the questions you like!
By the end of this visit, we want you to feel that you’ve got the best understanding of fostering that it’s possible to have at this stage. We also want you to be able to assess honestly what it will mean to you – and also what it will mean to your existing support network of family and friends – if you decide to start your application.
When you’re ready, it’s time to complete your application form. This will lead to you being assigned an assessing social worker, who will work with you on your assessment.
Don’t let the thought of paperwork put you off – we’re here to help if you need guidance.
Your application paperwork
This is a basic form that will ask you your full name, contact details and date of birth – the usual things. It will also ask about:
There are no right or wrong answers. You might feel worried about some of these questions – ask your carer recruitment officer to clarify anything you don’t understand.
Take heart and remember that we have foster carers from all backgrounds, all religions, all ethnicities, all sexual orientations, as well as those who have health issues, spent convictions, and disabilities. Our children are diverse – we need diversity in our foster carers too.
After you’ve submitted an application form, you’ll be allocated a supervising social worker to complete your fostering assessment, also known as Form F.
The fostering assessment process is an in-depth discovery. We need to be thorough for everyone involved. While it can feel a little intense, many potential foster carers find it therapeutic and useful to their future role. You can learn more about Form F here.
Foundations to Foster (also known as Skills to Foster) is the first mandatory training course, and you’ll complete it while you’re still in the approval process.
Training is held either online or at a venue in your region. It equips you with essential skills required to care for a vulnerable child or young person.
Like all our training, it’s delivered free of charge at a local venue or online.
You can learn more about our Skills to Foster training here.
Learn more about the full range of mandatory and optional foster carer training available from National Fostering Group.
By this stage, you’ll have completed your Form F. You’ll have successfully completed your Skills to Foster (also known as Foundations to Foster) training and background checks too.
Now, your completed application goes to a group of fostering, educational and care professionals, known as a Fostering Panel.
The purpose of the Fostering Panel is to carry out one final check of all the information that has been gathered throughout the fostering assessment process.
Panel meetings take place at your local fostering office or a venue close by. You’ll be invited to attend and your assessing social worker will be at your side to offer support throughout.
You will probably be asked questions during the panel process. Your assessing social worker will have helped prepare you in advance. The panel will then consider your assessment and make their recommendation.
Once the panel agrees with your local agency’s recommendation to approve your foster carer application, it will then be passed to the Agency Decision Maker (ADM).
The ADM’s role is to ensure children are safeguarded correctly and will appropriately challenge the agency and Panel when making a final decision. You’ll be informed at the panel whether you are being recommended as approved to the ADM.
The local agency team you’ve been working with will continue to support you throughout your fostering career. By now, we’ll know each other quite well and our team will use the information you’ve provided to match you with your first foster child. We do everything we can to make your placement a success for you and your foster child, starting before the placement is even agreed.
Some newly-approved foster carers will be offered a foster child immediately, especially if they have particular skills or there’s high demand in their region. Other new foster carers could wait days or weeks.
Our regional referral teams use their knowledge and understanding of you to propose a good match. If we think you’re a good match to a foster child needing a home, your supervising social worker (SSW) will have an informal chat to see what you think.
We’re mindful of your preferences, experience and training as a new foster carer. We won’t suggest a challenging placement for your first experience – this wouldn’t be fair to you or the child.
At this stage, as a new foster carer, you will probably be approved for short term, long term, emergency fostering and respite care.
Placements like Parent & Child and Bridge to Foster require specialism through experience and training, though foster carers who have been nurses, midwives, or other related professions may be considered.
Once you’ve been approved as a foster carer with us and you’re caring for your first child, our expert local teams will continue to support you.
They’ll visit regularly and remain a constant source of professional guidance and advice as and when you need it. This includes the provision of a 24/7 emergency helpline.
Your SSW will also encourage you to take advantage of all the training opportunities available to you, so you can grow in skills, experience and confidence in your new role.
The level of support we give our foster carers is one of the main reasons they continue to foster children with us year after year. We will advise you, fight your corner, celebrate your achievements and be there for you as you advocate for your foster children.
As young adults, taking the leap to become fostering carers seemed scary. Our local National Fostering Group agency provided encouragement, education and understand the challenges that are involved with being a foster carers. It's a rewarding experience.
Once you get in touch, your application will take on average, from 4 to 6 months. A fast track process is available for some applicants, which takes 2 months (8 weeks) but which is just as thorough.
Caring for children and young people is an important commitment, so we need to make sure it’s right for everyone concerned. During this time, we will do background checks, a medical check with your GP, assessments and training. You will have your Assessing Social Worker with you every step of the way.
The only qualification you need to become a foster carer is your basic training. We provide this training free of charge at a venue local to you.
We do encourage you to sign up for other training to improve your skills, enhance your confidence and broaden your experience. Just like your basic training, all our sessions are free and delivered at a venue local to you or online.
We’ll get your permission to perform background checks on you and your family, including criminal checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), medical checks with your GP, background checks with local authorities, and suitability checks with three referees (non-family members) provided by you. Where there is a charge for these checks, we will pay for them.
It doesn’t cost you anything to start fostering with National Fostering Group. We don’t charge any fees for you to apply to be a foster parent.
We pay for your Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, and we also pay for the GP check-up, as one is required during your assessment. Once you become a foster parent, we continue to support you with free 24/7 support, free training and access to other free resources.
Our website is a great resource, covering all aspects of how to become a foster parent – from real life carer stories to the nitty gritty about finances.
Importantly, we can also support you even before you apply from our local offices. National Fostering Group has agency offices all across the country, staffed by professional teams who can help. You can make contact with your local team by filling in our enquiry form for a call back.
During the call, you can ask us about anything. We want you to have the information you need to make your decision. If you decide to go ahead, your local team will guide you through the application process.
I have and always would recommend the National Fostering Group. They have been amazing for us and we’ve never thought about moving away from them.
Feeling inspired? If you’re ready to make a difference to a child’s life, contact our team today. We’ll help you take the next steps towards becoming a foster carer.
